


The Fall Didn't Work

by AsterArkane



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Art, Dead TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Digital Art, Exiled TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Friendship, Minecraft, Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Pictures, Post-TommyInnit's Exile (Video Blogging RPF), Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, Suicide Attempt, Traumatized Tommyinnit (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:27:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 43,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28933284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsterArkane/pseuds/AsterArkane
Summary: Tommy jumps off his dirt tower expecting death but instead someone transports him to an alternate timeline where he died at the age of 9, how will he deal with this? will he even try to go back or will he stay here?
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity & Dave | Technoblade & Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, No Romantic Relationship(s), Ranboo & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & Phil Watson
Comments: 314
Kudos: 1575
Collections: Dream SMP Fics, Mcyt, Minecraft (Video Game)





	1. Chapter 1 - The Dirt Pillar

None of them came…

This was his last shot in the dark maybe just maybe one of them would show up.

Yeah? At least Ranboo or ghostbur would make it Tommy knew that.

But he was wrong.

No one came leaving him to wait for hours until the candles of his cake had withered and the sun began to set.

In all honesty Tommy didn’t expect much from them they never visited anyway so one small event would be nothing right?

Wrong, no one cared.

Even dream hadn’t shown up giving Tommy some flimsy excuse of being busy and then logging off.

Tommy couldn’t really blame him.

Dream was like the god of this world, why would he waste his time hanging out with tommy.

That didn’t mean that this didn’t still hurt Tommy was utterly shattered past anyone's expectations.

Tommy prided himself on not being weak willed but it had been over half a year since he was exiled and it had gotten to him.

Everything he worked hard for was thrown into that little pit and blown up by dream and no one cared enough to visit him anymore.

Even the letters from Ranboo had stopped around the fourth month and Tommy had no way of knowing what had happened, maybe the guy had just given up on talking to Tommy.

Ghostbur was comforting at first giving Tommy a lot of lapis calling it blue but it soon got old.

Tommy had given Ghostbur those invites partly because he wanted him to go away for a while.

Ghostbur was always so positive and it had started to piss Tommy off, of course he could be all happy he wasn’t the one who was isolated from everyone he could do what he wanted with no consequence.

Consequences.

Tommy had learnt early on the consequences if he were to betray Dream but he had done it anyway.

Dream had come over after the party was done and had found Tommy’s secret stash of supplies.

Not only did Dream blow those up he blew up the entire area including all of Tommy’s things and his home.

Even if his home was a simple tent he still had an attachment to it, one that Dream ripped apart in front of him.

Tommy stood there tears trailing down his face as he watched Dream blow it all up his mind still lagging behind trying to rationalise everything.

“I’m leaving, I’ll be back when you’ve learnt your lesson,”

Dream left him.

Tommy bit back the scream as he watched Dream disappear into the nether the only person who had visited him was leaving and he couldn’t do anything.

  
  


Why?

What did Tommy do wrong?  **_Everything_ **

But he didn’t mean it, it was an accident,  **_it wasn’t an accident he deserved this._ **

Was it all his fault?  **_Of course it was._ **

Tommy couldn’t feel anything.

His body had turned numb, not even the freezing wind from the north fazed him.

He knew what he deserved,  **_You know what you need to do, it’s the only way to make it stop._ **

Tommy collected all the dirt he could find and made a shabby tower as high as he could go.

The block limit was just at cloud level.

Tommy was above the clouds.

He just wanted it all to stop.

The hurt.

The pain.

The betrayal.

Tommy just wanted there to be silence for once.

He sat there wearing Wilburs old jacket and looked out into the sky.

There were no birds.

There was no wind.

Only him and his deafening thoughts.

**_Hurry up!_ **

**_You know what needs to be done._ **

**_You deserve this._ **

**_It’s all your fault._ **

**_They wont even miss you._ **

Tommy sighed and looked to the ground a final time.

There was no one, he thought maybe someone would see and stop him.

Of course no one was there.

This was what he had to do.

No one cared anyway.

Ít was easier for him this way.

No more pain.

No more noise.

Tommy stood up and held his breath.

All he had to do was take a step.

A single step and all of this will be over.

He’ll finally be able to rest.

Finally…

But his legs failed him refusing to move from the spot they were planted.

“C’mon! Please-,” Tommy began hysterically crying to himself.

“No one cares! So why-Why can’t I just do this!,”.

Tommy was screaming, not caring about whoever could hear him.

It wasn't like there was anyone here to begin with.

**_Weak!_ ** Tommy agreed with the dark voices, he was weak he didn’t even know what to do anymore this was the easiest option and he still couldn’t do it,  _ Why? _

It didn’t matter if he could do it.

He had no choice.

The dirt below him was beginning to give way swaying softly with the wind, there was no way out but down from here on out.

Tommy took a deep breath and let himself give in.

His foot leant backwards and he fell with it heading back first towards the ground staring up at the sunset.

This was going to be the last thing he saw.

The wind brushed against his face as he felt the sickening feeling of falling and fear bubbled up in his chest.

Tommy wanted to go home.

He wanted to see Tubbo.

He wanted to run around the fields with Wilbur.

He wanted to duel with Techno.

He wanted to hug his dad.

Tears fell with the wind and Tommy silently plummeted.

The ground hit hard.

Tommy was ready to finally be free.

He could feel himself slowly lose his consciousness.

But life had other plans for Tommy and he woke up choking on dirt buried six feet under. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took wayyy to long to figure out how to do the image sizing, I'm thinking of doing picture like that for the whole series what do y'all think?


	2. Chapter 2 - The Grave

Tommy didn’t understand what was happening, was death supposed to feel like your lungs were burning?

Everything was so dark but he could still feel his surroundings as it was a familiar substance one he had jumped from, dirt.

He resisted the urge to open his eyes and began to claw at the dirt realizing his need for oxygen.

For someone who just tried to kill himself Tommy was panicking trying to stay alive.

The dirt around him began to become softer as he dug up or at least the direction he assumed was up.

The dirt also became more saturated as he dug further up probably from the ground being wet but Tommy was too busy dying from oxygen deprivation to really care.

Once he felt his hand grasp something that felt like grass Tommy became more frantic pulling himself up and out of the hole as fast as possible.

Tommy’s eyes were watering from the dirt which must’ve gotten inside them and he thanked the gods when he felt the heavy rain pouring down.

The water quickly washed away the dirt from his face and Tommy could finally get a better look at his surroundings.

It was definitely nighttime or just after sunset because he could barely see anything around him as everything melted into the dark shadows.

Tommy was still struggling for air as he began to calm himself down trying to rationalize this situation.

Why was he in the ground? Had someone buried him? That didn’t explain why all the injuries he would’ve got from the fall seemed non existent.

Tommy should at least have a graze from his fall but he was completely fine like he had never even hit the ground in the first place.

Come to think of it, did he ever hit the ground? He did feel himself hitting something but it could’ve been him appearing in the dirt.

But he couldn’t have just teleported into the ground, the only one who had any teleportation abilities was Dream and enderman and Tommy had doubts that either of them had helped him.

Tommy was so caught up in his thoughts he didn’t realise how drenched he was getting from standing in the rain which would obviously lead to him getting cold.

Tommy wanted to leave and seek shelter but something tugged from the back of his mind to stay and look around.

Tommy could barely see in the darkness but right above the hole he had just dug was a large stone object.

Something familiar something Tommy had seen countless times before but he just couldn’t think of it until the lightning struck.

The lightning had frightened Tommy but it had given him a flash of light that he had needed to be able to see the stone in front of him.

It was a grave.

His grave to be exact as the only thing he could make out from that burst of light was the name ‘Tommy Innit’.

Did this mean Tommy had actually died and now he was some sort of ghost?

No, that didn’t make sense, ghosts didn’t have a physical form and certainly didn’t have any need for oxygen which Tommy definitely needed.

Tommy crawled closer to the grave hoping to get anymore information out of this already confusing situation.

Another bout of lightning gave Tommy enough time to read the rest of the text inscribed on the grave.

**‘** **_Tommy Innit’_ **

**_‘ Born XX XX XX03 - Died XX XX XX12 ’_ **

**_‘ Beloved Son and Brother ’_ **

Tommy thought about it for a second, that was his actual birthday on the grave but the date of death was definitely wrong.

If he had died then he would only have been nine years old not sixteen.

Tommy remembered that date it had struck him as surprising, that was the first time Tommy had run away from home.

_ Tommy was angry, His brother Techno refused to let Tommy go out mob hunting with him it was ridiculous. _

_ Tommy was already nine years old and while his brothers got to go off and fight cool mobs he was stuck at the house with Phil who refused to let him go out into the forest. _

_ Tommy was stubborn if anything so he had snuck out during the night with one of the practice swords Techno had given him for sword practice. _

_ Tommy would hunt down a mod and bring it home to prove to his family that he was strong enough. _

_ Techno would be so proud- a thud, then a stomp. _

_ Tommy was trembling already not realising that his body had locked up in fear. _

_ He stood there as a grotesque creature made its way through the shrubs and towards Tommy. _

_ It was an enderman, a mob which was usually passive towards people as long as they didn’t stare at it for too long but Tommy was already boring holes into its face. _

_ Tommy couldn’t move he was frozen even as the enderman began to enter it’s enraged state it’s jaw unhinging and it’s eyes burning a bright purple. _

_ Tommy didn’t even have time to scream as it teleported in front of him and swung it’s arm. _

_ Tommy shut his eyes preparing himself for the blow but it never came. _

_ He heard yelling then everything went dark as he passed out from shock. _

Tommy was told that Techno had been the one to notice that his brother was missing and they had all gone out to find him but Tommy didn’t remember any of it.

Tommy was grounded for at least a month after that by Philza who was worried sick for the boy but it didn’t take long for Tommy to get back into his reckless ways.

Tommy looked over to the gave, if Techno hadn’t noticed he was missing he would’ve died.

And then it hit Tommy, he was dead, in this world at least.

This was some sort of weird dream where he had died at that age or maybe this was some sort of alternate dimension.

Either way Tommy didn’t want to think about it and decided to direct his attention to getting out of the storm.

Tommy was completely drenched in water and the harsh wind was only making him colder so he decided to go towards the forest hoping the trees would give him some sort of cover from the rain.

Even if it was dark Tommy recognised this forest as the one near his childhood house but it had changed slightly looking older and more worn than he had remembered.

Still Tommy tried his best to veer away from the direction he assumed the house was in, he most certainly didn’t want to run into anyone he knew especially with all this weird shit happening.

Tommy continued to walk around until he could no longer feel his fingers numbed by the cold.

Tommy decided to stop walking around for now not wanting to push his luck he was already lucky enough to not run into any mobs especially charged creepers since it was still thundering around him.

Tommy found the tallest tree he could find and began to climb up already familiar with the feeling of bark scraping away at his skin as he climbed.

The tree offered him some cover from the rain but he was already dripping wet and exhausted and before he had even realised Tommy was fast asleep on top of the branches.

Tommy’s dream were plagued with the voice.

**_Why are you still here!? I thought he died. Why is he still alive?_ **

**_He’s cold. Who cares if he’s cold! He should’ve died._ **

**_Why? What did he do to deserve this? We know what he did dumbass!_ **

**_Just end it. It’s so cold. I just want to sleep._ **

**_Why?_ **

**_Why do we deserve this?_ **

**_We’ve been fucked over by others from the start._ **

**_We shouldn’t have to die because of them._ **

**_I don’t want to die._ **

Tommy began to cry in his sleep alone and cold but still feeling a strange warmth from those words.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mixed up the tags last time but hopefully they are fixed now thx for telling me <3


	3. Chapter 3 - Waking Up

Tommy was cold.

Even if he had sought cover from the rain by going into the forest it didn’t mean he was going to dry off anytime soon.

Tommy had woken up to the feeling of completely wet cloths that stuck to his body in an uncomfortable way.

Tommy took off his jacket first cringing at the breeze that brushed against his bear arms but this was the quickest way to dry off.

It was around sunrise that Tommy had woken up as the early morning dew still hung on the forest from the night's storm.

Tommy gave a quick check of his surroundings making sure there weren't any mobs around then jumped down from his perch.

Tommy landed on his hands and knees which wasn’t the most elegant way to go down but that didn’t really faze him it wasn’t like there was anyone around to see him.

The forest floor was very much still wet from the storm and Tommy was soon covered in the mud that was sloshing around.

Tommy was glad that he had his boots on and not his sneakers because his feet would most definitely be drenched if he had that was really the only part of him that had managed to stay half dry.

A plan was needed.

Tommy didn’t know what was going on but he needed to figure it out preferably while avoiding anyone he knew because Tommy would probably have a breakdown if he had to talk to them.

Information is what Tommy needed and he knew exactly where to get it.

Every village had an information broker, it was basic practice so all Tommy had to do was go to the nearest village and ask around.

It was right about now that he was thankful that he had gone through the painful process of learning the local’s language as annoying as it was.

Though he should probably clean himself up a tiny bit before he went into a village, people usually didn’t trust a homeless looking man covered in dirt.

To the stream it was then.

Honestly the stream wasn’t too far off from the village but he knew the detour would be required if he wanted to get any good information.

Plus Tommy knew that Techno had kept a secret stash of weapons behind the waterfall over here so hopefully this Techno would do the same.

Tommy took a little longer than he would’ve liked to get to the stream but he had to try his best to avoid any mobs especially since he could hear several creepers explode not too far from where he was.

The stream was beautiful in a sense.

It was early morning and the sun had risen so not many mobs would be around especially since streams like this usually deterred them, especially enderman who hated the mere thought of water.

Tommy didn’t have the energy to hide his expressions so he smiled with glee as he walked over to the water.

First thing he did was dump his jacket into the stream making sure to clean off all the dirt that had gathered from him being underground.

Tommy was more careful near the seams not wanting the jacket to fall apart as it so clearly wanted to especially since it was mostly held together by spare patches of fabric Tommy had found in exile.

Tommy shuddered even thinking of his exile; it just brought back all the horrible memories from the previous day.

Tommy splashed his face with the stream water to clear his thoughts.

He left his jacket on one of the rocks that was already drying in the sun and walked towards the small waterfall near the end of the stream.

The waterfall was barely as tall as Tommy but the current was strong enough to hide the small cave behind it.

Tommy crouched down and walked through the water shivering when he got wet right after drying himself off.

The space behind the waterfall was barely a few meters deep but it was the perfect amount of space to have a hidden chest, one that Tommy was praying was there.

Tommy’s prayers were answered as he saw a small box near the back of the cave probably left by Techno.

At least that much was the same here.

Tommy rummaged through the chest only to find some iron equipment like an axe and sword along with some dried out food and with a small stash of emerald for trades.

Food and weapons were more than enough for Tommy but he found it strange that Techno hadn’t kept more in there from what he knew Techno was filthy rich and had thousands of hidden chests.

And most of those chests had at least one set of diamond armour if not netherite so to find iron was more than strange.

Tommy put the food and emerald into his inventory while he made his way back out of the cave.

Tommy probably had some time to kill while his jacket dried up so he decided to take a walk around the stream always keeping a fair distance between him and his jacket not wanting it to be stolen.

Now that it was morning the animals had started to come for a morning drink and tommy saw several deer pass by not really bothering with him.

They probably didn’t see him as any sort of threat because they decided to take their drink right next to the rock he was sitting on.

If Tommy was less tired he probably would’ve tried to kill a few of them for the food but he really wasn’t bothered right now he already had enough dried meat for a few days.

After the deer left Tommy decided it was probably also time for him to leave so he went over to grab his jacket.

Tommy picked up the jacket and felt a weight in one of it’s pockets, something he didn’t notice before due to his overall panic and sleepiness.

Tommy ruffled through the pocket and found a familiar looking compass one Tommy thought he had left in his ender chest before he began to build the dirt tower.

‘Your Tubbo’

The compass had a small note on the back that was engraved into the metal one that Tommy knew all too well.

It was his compass.

  
  


Tommy didn’t understand why he was crying.

He flipped over the object and saw the red pointer still functioning pointing him in the direction of Tubbo.

But why?

Why was this the one thing he had left?

Tommy shook away his feelings for a moment and dried his eyes, he didn’t need to care anymore he was as good as dead to everyone anyway.

Tommy shoved the compass back into his pocket and began to travel through the forest once again now with an axe in hand so that he could fend off any mobs that did happen to come by.

Tommy always preferred to use an axe instead of the sword like everyone else especially since Tommy was one of the only people who had a maxed out axe.

A lot of people didn’t see the need to max out something like an axe so Tommy decided he would be one of the few people to do so.

It had taken him several weeks of grinding and a bit of helpful guidance from Techno on the enchants he should get but Tommy eventually had his prized possession.

Now that he thought about it, that axe was one of the few things he still had even if it was in his ender chest.

Did his ender chest even work over here?

That was something Tommy would figure out later for now he would focus on getting information and hopefully finding out what has happened in this world.

The sounds of the village could be heard from about a mile out since during the day time there were always villagers trading with each other in the marketplace even if it was usually the same repetitive trades.

Phil had explained to him that villagers were less sentient than humans usually sticking to the same routine not being able to make decisions for themselves unless they were in danger.

That’s why learning their language was so annoying it was just a bunch of random noises and each one had a different meaning depending on the tone or volume used.

Tommy walked into the village and immediately recognised it as the village closest to his old home with Phil.

Tommy hadn’t been to the village or his home in years but it was still familiar enough that he knew what building the information broker would most likely be in.

Most of the villagers didn’t even acknowledge his presence in the village too focused on their own little trades so Tommy had no trouble going straight through to the broker.

The brokers house was designed slightly differently to everyone elses with thicker walls and less exits probably for security or privacy.

Information Brokers were one of the only types of villagers to rely on humans for their trades so they usually didn’t do any sort of business until a human appeared in the village.

Tommy knocked on the door and waited patiently for someone to answer.

He was greeted with an eccentric looking villager who looked like he just came back from stabbing someone under a bridge and stealing all their jewelry.

“ _Hello there, what can I do for you today,”_ Tommy sighed “ _why else would I come, I’m here for information_ ,” Tommy still had a bit of an accent but that was fine the villager understood and ushered him inside closing the door.

“ _What would you like to know?_ ,” Tommy thought for a moment, what could he ask that would give him the most information? “ _Do you know anything about these people_ ,” Tommy wrote down the names of anyone he could remember and passed it along to the villager.

“ _Oh yes! Some of these fellows are quite famous, they’re part of the group that are trying to get to the end_ ,” the villager pointed to a few names on the list mostly the people who had been apart of the dream smp, Tommy still thought that was a weird way to name their group.

“ _These few here are the main players, They’ve created a settlement a few day travel west from here_ ,” The villager pointed to a few specific names; Dream, George, Eret, Wilbur, Tubbo, Shlatt and Quackity.

Tommy was surprised that Techno wasn’t one of the main players but he was probably just there for muscle since he didn’t have the best track record with getting along with others.

This also meant that Wilbur hadn’t died and become Ghostbur in this universe which made sense since he and Tommy were the ones who came up with L’manberg in the first place, without Tommy there was no L’manberg.

_“Can you tell me anything about these two in particular_ ,” Tommy pointed towards his brother’s names, he really needed to know what they were like if he ever ran into them, especially with their unstable nature in his own world.

_“I can tell you want to stay away from those two, The older one is basically a war machine and that Wilbur guy is a silver tongued snake_ ,” That wasn’t anything Tommy was surprised about Techno had always been good with swords and Wilbur was- well he was Wilbur.

_“How far along is this group, in getting to the end I mean_ ,” Tommy was honestly surprised Dream hadn’t cleared the end yet that was the whole reason he was so god-like in Tommy’s world.

Tommy knew that defeating the dragon would give people what Dream called admin privileges but that still hadn’t happened here yet which meant that Tommy had a chance to snatch that for himself.

Tommy didn’t really have any interest in becoming a god like Dream but with access to the privileges like Dream had he could figure out what had happened and maybe a way to get back.

Even if Tommy was abandoned by everyone over there they had at least known him here everyone had never even met him he was just the tragic backstory for his two brothers.

“ _They’re still trying to open up a nether portal but it’s proven to be difficult, Apparently you need someone from the nether to be able to open it_ ,” That confused Tommy had they really not gone to the nether yet?

And on top of that Techno was literally part piglin so they shouldn’t have any problem on that front, that was one of the only things he had shared with his oldest brother their relation to the nether.

Although Tommy’s relation was a lot less prominent his mother had still been part magma cube which he had so many questions about but he had just shrugged it off as some magic bullshit.

Honestly if you didn’t know you wouldn’t have realised Tommy was a hybrid he had been taught from a young age how to hide it so as long as he didn't fall into some lava he was fine.

Either way it didn’t make sense that they hadn’t been to the nether yet.

_“What about him? Isn’t he from the nether,”_ The broker nodded _“Yes but the other side has blocked his access, apparently he did some pretty fucked up stuff over there,”._

_“He may be half piglin but over there he’s just a human to them especially after the murders he committed,”_ Tommy wasn’t surprised that Techno had gone on a rampage in the nether it was his own weird way of dealing with things.

But he didn’t know about all these weird portal rules he had never had any trouble with creating a portal before so it must’ve never come up.

“ _I’m not meaning to intrude or anything but why are you so interested in these people? Are you trying to join up with them?_ ,” It would probably be weird to an outsider what Tommy was asking.

_“Join up with them?,”_ The villager nodded _“Yes, I heard they’re looking for more people to help especially with the portal problem,”_ Tommy caught the different tone when the Villager talked about the portal this guy was shifty.

Tommy hadn’t even thought of joining up with his friends; he was just going to speedrun the whole thing alone but teaming up came with its benefits.

Tommy didn’t know how powerful they were and if they managed to get to the end before him he was screwed.

If Tommy teamed with them he could probably just kill them all right before they finished the portal and make them respawn all the way back at their homes then he could defeat the dragon by himself.

“ _Thank you for the info, Here’s your emeralds,”_ Tommy placed his emerald on the table and the villager smiled with greed, giving Tommy a warm smile and seeing him out wanting to go count the profit that they had made.

Tommy sighed and looked around the village, it was going to be a long journey to get over to the settlement so he should probably prepare.

This was going to be an interesting journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do y'all think I should wait a day between postings or just post whenever ?


	4. Chapter 4 - Frederic

First things first.

Tommy wanted to get himself a horse, the journey to the settlement would be around a month on foot so getting a horse was a must.

The problem was not all villages had horses for sale and even if they did it was usually the weaker variants of wild horses.

That would be a problem Tommy was so used to riding wild horses with almost perfect stats because of Techno and his whole horse breeding scheme.

This meant that Tommy would most definitely get irritated trying to ride any of the lackluster horses and maybe even eat them if he was annoyed or hungry enough.

So the horses at the village weren’t an option.

That left Tommy to get a saddle so that he could go out and find himself his own horse out in the wilderness.

It wasn’t that hard to find horses out in the wild; they usually roamed around open plains which was the most common area on this continent.

Tommy was now looking around the village for their leather worker who usually also had some degree of ability in making saddles.

Even if the villager didn’t know how Tommy could just teach them he had learnt how to make saddles a while ago but it would be helpful if he taught someone else to refresh his memory.

Tommy found what he was looking for when he saw the leather worker in the middle of a trade with another villager trading some leather straps for food.

The two villagers departed soon after and Tommy approached the leather work “ _hey,”_ The villager nodded at Tommy acknowledging his presence _“What do you need from me?,”_.

All these villagers were straight to the point which was one of the only things that kept Tommy from strangling them “ _Do you sell horse saddles? Also do you have any bags,”_.

Tommy would probably need a leather bag to carry some of his items since his inventory only had ten slots.

“ _I can provide both, do you want a bag for the horse or yourself?,”_ Tommy followed the villager to their shop as the two talked “ _One for each please_ ,”.

The villager rummaged around in their shop for a second before coming back out from behind the counter “ _Here are your choices, these are ten emeralds all together and these are fifteen,”._

The two piles both had the same items but the more expensive ones had better workmanship and had fur lining instead of fabric probably for colder areas.

Tommy only had around forty emeralds on him at the moment and he would need at least ten to get the other essentials for his trip like water and some more food so if he bought the fifteen dollar lot he would only be left with fifteen emeralds.

But if anything Tommy didn’t want to be underprepared and have his bag fall apart as soon as things got rough so he opted for the fifteen dollar lot.

_“Thank you! Come again anytime,”_ The villager waved Tommy off and he was back on his hunt around the marketplace looking for items he might need.

The marketplace wasn’t too big but the fact that everyone was trading with each other and wandering around instead of staying in the stalls meant Tommy had to go search for specific villagers for what he needed.

After collecting enough food and water for the journey Tommy decided to go out into the plains to try and find a horse.

Tommy was about to leave the village until he noticed a single villager who wasn’t doing any trades, They seemed to be a traveling merchant who had just arrived in town since all their stuff was carried by two llamas.

“ _Would you like anything here sir,”_ The merchant caught Tommy staring and had brought him over to the llamas who had all sorts of items on them.

Tommy only had fourteen emeralds left after his trip and everything here looked way too expensive for his liking until a flash of red caught his eye.

It was a bright red bandana one that vaguely matched Tommy’s own shirt and it was only three emeralds.

_“Can I have this?,”_ The merchant nodded _“Sure thing, a nice lady a few towns over gave it to me,”_ Tommy handed the merchant the emeralds and went back on his way now with the comfort of being slightly warmer.

Tommy finally got out of the village and into the plains after awkwardly trying to avoid any more traders going in.

The plains weren’t too far off from the village either so that was great he really didn’t want to carry all of this stuff for much longer so he put all his effort into finding a good horse.

Techno had taught Tommy a good way of finding the best horse in it’s herd since Techno had spent so much time trying to figure it out and was dying to let his knowledge to be actually useful.

Tommy looked at the herd infront of him and it was plainly obvious who the best horse was as it pranced around the field with little to no caution and all the other horses followed more wary of their surroundings.

The only problem was that the stronger the horse the harder to tame which meant finding the strongest horse in the herd and trying to tame them was usually an extreme hassle.

Especially for a very obviously malnourished Tommy who most definitely had hyperthermia a few hours ago and was lucky to get dry as fast as he did.

Second best it was, one would think the second best would stride beside the best horse but usually they were at the back in charge of making sure nothing came up from behind and surprised the herd.

This also meant it was easier for Tommy to get to the horse without it running away, the other horses would most definitely be spooked and leave their mate behind so it was perfect for Tommy.

Tommy layed down all his equipment next to a rock aside from the saddle and began to sneak through the grass towards the stallion who was currently grazing.

It was weird how easy it was to tame a horse Tommy assumed it would take days but as soon as you put the saddle on them they became loyal towards you, maybe it was some sort of magic effect.

Tommy jumped out of the grass in a flash and wrangled his way atop the horse who began to panic trying to buck Tommy off so that it could flee.

Tommy didn’t give the horse any leeway and managed to get the saddle on with relative ease apart from the few cuts he had gotten from trying to strap it to the horses stomach.

Tommy was flexible if anything so he easily slid himself off the horses back and into a position where he could strap everything on while still keeping a good grip so the horse didn’t run.

After an eventful minute or two Tommy had successfully tamed the horse “Hell yeah! Your name shall be Frederic,” Frederic neighed in approval and followed Tommy back to his items.

Tommy took a decent ten minute sit down break after that, that was probably the most energy he had used in a while well apart from digging himself out of the grave but that didn’t count.

Frederic seemed to be a fairly decent horse with most of his strength lying in his speed which meant Tommy had to be a bit more careful with getting him hurt but that was still great.

Tommy strapped on the bag to Frederic’s saddle and put his own bag there as well, binding them both down with some leather belts he had been given.

“We’re gonna have a blast, next stop the Settlement!,” Tommy hopped onto Frederic and they set off west to where the villager had told him to go.

\---

The road was long and rough but Tommy didn’t mind; he had a sense of comfort as he rode, it was always something that calmed him down.

It was a freeing experience to be able to ride and just enjoy the trip not having to worry about anything else.

That was until Tommy could begin to think to himself once more after all the hassle.

**_Why do we even want to see them?_ **

Tommy brushed off the thought he wasn’t going so that he could see the others he was going so that he could get home.

**_What if they recognise you?_ **

**_What if Wilbur and Techno realise who you are?_ **

**_What will they do to you?_ **

**_Torture you?_ **

**_Kill you?_ **

Tommy started to scrunch into himself feeling more uncomfortable with every new thought.

**_Maybe they won't let you in._ **

**_You aren’t very useful._ **

**_They’ll just use you for the portal then leave._ **

_Leave?_

**_Leave you alone again._ **

Tommy was spiralling he didn’t want to think about it he just wanted to go there and get this over with.

Frederic started to slow down noticing that Tommy wasn’t controlling him anymore instead he was holding his head in his hands muttering to himself.

Tommy just wanted these thought to leave him alone he didn’t want to think about it anymore-

Frederic’s hooves hit a puddle and the water splashed up onto Tommy.

“The fuck! Dude I just got dry!,” Tommy started yelling at his horse but Frederic began to trot along content with his decision.

Tommy was surprised he had such an intelligent horse but that didn’t mean he wasn’t gonna get pissed from being splashed.

They continued to ride until the sun began to set meaning the mobs would start to come out soon.

“Well I think we should find a cave, don’t wanna get attacked out of nowhere right?,” Tommy sighed as he jumped off Frederic’s back.

It wasn’t hard to find a cave, they were pretty common on trails and were usually man made to help others who needed shelter for the night.

There was one fairly big cave up ahead so Tommy began to head over to it making sure that Frederic was following close behind.

It wouldn’t be strange to find other travelers who were also seeking shelter so Tommy wasn’t surprised when he saw torches set up around the cave to ward off monsters.

Tommy didn’t really want to be sharing a cave with random people but he didn’t really have a choice since the sun was almost set and he needed to get Frederic to safety.

Approaching the cave Tommy could tell it wasn’t going to be a big group of people usually they would set up a watch system so that someone was always looking out for mobs.

There was no one outside to keep watch so Tommy assumed it was either a small group or someone traveling alone like he was.

It was more common to travel in groups but Tommy couldn’t judge people if they wanted to go alone everyone had their different reasons for traveling after all.

“Hellooo,” Tommy called as he was right at the caves entrance and could see a campfire lit up inside.

Last thing that Tommy wanted was to be stabbed by someone because they hadn’t noticed he was there and yes that had happened, he never truly forgave Wilbur for that and would bring it up spitefully.

The person in the cave seemed surprised that someone else was around “Oh! Uh- hello?,” Tommy knew that voice, it was familiar.

Tommy entered the cave.

And a familiar face stood there awkwardly fidgeting not really expecting to have company as they cooked some food on the campfire.

“M-My names Ranboo, nice to meet you,”.

  
  
  


___________________________________

I didn’t really wanna draw anything from this chapter so has this reference sheet instead :D


	5. Chapter 5 - Ranboo?

Ranboo was in the middle of cooking some rabbit he had caught on the road when he heard someone call out.

“Hellooo,” Ranboo was a bit surprised he hadn’t even noticed someone approaching the cave so the voice caught him off guard.

“Oh, Um hello?,” Ranboo slowly stood up trying to see who was coming in.

A boy and his horse entered the cave and Ranboo awkwardly stood there, he was usually shy so talking to others wasn’t his strong suit.  
  


The boy looked around Ranboo’s age maybe even younger and had a more haggard appearance wearing a jacket that had patches all over it and worn out clothes.

Oh! He should probably introduce himself, that was what people did right?

“M-My names Ranboo, Nice to meet you,” Ranboo stood there awkwardly waiting for the stranger to reply.

\---

Of course.

Of course out of all the people in the world Tommy could meet in a cave it would be Ranboo.

This did confirm to Tommy he didn’t exist here however since Ranboo had no recognition when he saw Tommy and he had even introduced himself.

This Ranboo seemed happier than the one in Tommy’s universe who was always thrown into whatever plans L’manberg had before Ranboo could even make his own decisions.

“I’m Tommy,” Tommy awkwardly stood there as well, neither of them really knowing how to interact with one another.

It made sense Tommy already knew a whole heap about Ranboo and in his mind ~~_they were friends_ ~~ they knew each other.

“Nice to meet you Tommy,” Ranboo sat back down at the fire and Tommy went to leash Frederic so that he wouldn’t run off in the middle of the night because some mob spooked him.

Tommy was more than happy staying silent; he really didn’t know how to interact with Ranboo right now especially with all his conflicting feelings.

“So...um, Where are you headed?,” Ranboo however was not happy with the silence; it made the whole situation worse for him, the first person around his age he meets on his travels and they can’t even talk to each other.

“West, What about you?,” Tommy had finished up with Frederic and went over to sit down by the fire which gave off a nice warmth.

“I-I’m going to the Ender Settlement, I think that’s west as well?,” Ranboo was fidgeting now he didn’t really understand why he was so nervous around Tommy.

“Are you trying to join up with ‘em?,” This was predictable Ranboo in Tommy’s world had joined smp so it would make sense for the one in this world to seek out the same thing.

“Y-yeah! I just think it’s really cool what they’re trying to do,” Ranboo seemed embarrassed, was it embarrassing wanting to join them?

“So that means you know how to fight right?,” Ranboo nodded his head “Yeah, I’ve been in a few battles in my home country,” Tommy listened along trying to gauge how much he can trust Ranboo’s words.

“W-What about you! Why’re you heading west?,” Ranboo’s food seemed to have finished cooking so he decided to start eating “Same as you I guess,”.

Tommy looked away as Ranboo’s eyes lit up with excitement “Really? You’re gonna try and join them too! That’s so cool,” Tommy felt a little embarrassed “Does that mean you can fight too?,”.

Tommy seemed relieved he was expecting a more invasive question like asking him why he wanted to join “Yeah, I’ve fought in a few wars myself though I lost most of my gear,”.

Ranboo was always interested in other people. He loved writing down people's adventures and stories in his books so hearing of Tommy’s fight in wars made him excited “What was it like?,”.

Tommy chuckled at Ranboo’s curiosity some things really didn’t change “Well it all started with a drug van-,” Tommy rambled on about all the events he had taken apart in.

Tommy didn’t realise how fun it was to talk about all this stuff usually everyone didn’t really care about his involvement in the wars since he was usually the instigator.

Ranboo listened in curiosity bubbling as he began to write things down in his book, Tommy made sure he didn’t say anyone’s names as he continued with his tales.

The fire crackled as the two exchanged stories, the atmosphere more relaxed than it was before and Tommy felt it was safe for him to talk with Ranboo like this.

Tommy had gotten so caught up in his tales he didn’t notice the quiet snoring from Ranboo who despite his best efforts had given into sleep.

Ranboo looked so much different here, not in a sense that his appearance had changed but he seemed so much more relaxed.

Like a weight from the other world had been lifted off his shoulders in this one, honestly it made sense Ranboo was forced to be in government.

The man didn’t even get a choice as Tubbo tossed him into the thick of it with the butcher army, that plan was always going to fail but bringing Ranboo along just meant that he had no choice but to be a part of the nation.

Honestly Tommy hated to agree with Techno but he started to see what he had seen when he had summoned withers, the government was corrupt and the nation was better without it.

Well not like it mattered anymore L’manberg didn’t even exist in this place so Tommy hopefully didn’t have anything to worry about.

**_But what if the Settlement is just like L’manberg._ **

**_What if they just use you then throw you away._ **

**_Just like before._ **

Tommy waved away his thoughts he wasn’t going to be manipulated. 

Not again.

Especially since he now had a clear goal he was just using these people to get back he wasn’t going to get attached like he had done last time.

Never again.

Tommy decided it was probably time to go to sleep. He was exhausted from today and the mental strain he was going through wasn’t helping in that department.

Frederic was already fast asleep and Tommy envied the horse being able to adjust to everything so quickly.

Tommy fell asleep leaning against one of the stone walls not wanting to lie down because he could easily be ready if he was in an upright position.

  
  


Tommy’s dreams were filled with static something Tommy became accustomed to during his exile, dreaming of nothing was better than nightmares or even worse memories.

\---

The sun had barely begun to rise when Tommy had begun to regain consciousness.

He was most certainly going to hurt from the position he had slept in especially since he had fallen over during the night landing awkwardly on one of his hands.

Everything was sore as Tommy began to stretch out he wanted to get going early so that he could spend the day riding, hopefully cutting the journey length some more.

Ranboo was asleep next to the now ashy remains of the campfire and makeshift skewer which was just another stick that hadn’t been burnt.

Tommy knew they were traveling in the same direction but he didn’t want to wake the man. 

It would be easier for him if he traveled alone.

If Ranboo woke up Tommy would probably feel guilty and travel with him so Tommy tried his best to leave before that happened.

Frederic seemed less than pleased to be woken up early and gave Tommy a huff before once again closing his eyes, ignoring Tommy’s request for him to wake up.

It was fair, Frederic was the one doing all the work honestly so he should probably deserve at least a small sleep in but that didn’t mean Tommy wasn’t going to at least try to wake him up.

Well there goes all of Tommy’s plans to get a headstart he was going to have to wait until Frederic wanted to go.

May as well have some breakfast then even if it did make Tommy feel nauseous, he wasn’t used to eating so much especially since in exile he would only be given food every few days.

Having all three meals everyday was definitely a sudden change from that and it had made Tommy feel downright sick but he needed the strength.

He was already aware that he had lost a significant amount of weight in exile and that meant his body would be weaker.

Tommy couldn’t afford being weak.

The best option for food would probably be the rations but Tommy was awake now and he had time to kill.

Tommy grabbed his axe and bag and headed out of the cave so he could get some more food while he was waiting for his lazy ass horse.

It was easy to find food for Tommy he hadn’t been a scavenger for nothing, he had a lot of experience trying to find food from Pogtopia as well so he was more than aware of the plants around the area he could use.

Tommy’s brothers were both surprised when they found out he knew so much about plant life in this region and he took some offence to that.

While they were always out fighting he was stuck at home with Phil of course he was going to pick up a few things.

Especially since his father had also been interested in the plants even if his knowledge was more in the medical aspects.

Honestly Tommy started to learn about plants because he wanted to start up his drug empire with Will who had already gotten himself a drug van.

They were never really serious about any of that thought and the ‘drugs’ they had were mostly just potions and they had never really made any actual drugs in there.

Anyway, Tommy was lost in his own thoughts as he wandered through the forest picking up anything that seemed useful along the way.

It was weird, back in his world he would never have done this sort of thing. 

He was always so busy with everything that he never really did anything for himself.

To be fair he had his whole exile to himself but that was filled with the stresses and uncertainty of whether he would see someone the next day or if he would be killed off by dream.

Dream….

How was he going to talk to the man? In exile Tommy had relied on him but Tommy knew all too well that Dream had manipulated him.

Tommy would probably punch him in the face if he were still back at home.

But he wasn’t back at home he was here and it wouldn’t be productive to punch one of the leaders of the group he wanted to join as soon as he saw them.

Enough thinking for now, Tommy should get back before the animals start to wake up he didn’t want to run into any hostile animals right now.

Tommy could tell just by glancing at the cave that Ranboo had woken up.

Ranboo had a strange little quirk that always let you know where he was, it was probably because he was part enderman but whenever the boy was in the dark he would have little particles fly around him.

These particles were probably always there but could only be seen in the dark but that didn’t really matter.

Tommy saw the purple particles drift out of the cave as he began to approach not wanting to spook the other.

Tommy hadn’t had a chance to see what Ranboo was like when he was alone, his Ranboo would usually just mutter to himself and try and keep himself busy.

“Aren’t you a good horse,” Ranboo was near the entrance of the cave and it seemed that Frederic had woken up since Tommy had left.

Ranboo was giving Frederic an apple from his bag and seemed to be happy when the horse had neighed in approval.

Honestly Tommy shouldn’t be surprised, this Ranboo seemed to have a lot more childhood wonder than the one in his world and even there Ranboo had been seen dotting over others pets.

Tommy didn’t really feel like watching any longer he didn’t really feel like spying on someone right now so he walked nonchalantly back into the cave.

“Mornin’,” Tommy waved at Ranboo who shot up from his position next to the horse not really sure if he was even allowed to be feeding it.

“G-Good morning,” Ranboo went back to his fidgety self once more but seemed more relaxed in Tommy’s presence than he was last night.

Tommy plonked himself down next to Frederic and began to munch on the few plants he had gathered from outside.

They surely didn’t taste very nice but he knew they’d give him more than enough energy to start off the day plus they were easier to keep down than any of the meat or bread he had brought.

Ranboo went to his own bag and began to chew on some sort of bar that looked like it was made of random nuts and some sort of dried fruits.

  
  


Tommy had finished his meal fairly quickly as Ranboo watched him begin to get ready for his trip.

Tommy made sure he had everything packed up and strapped onto Frederic before he started to untie the horse getting prepared to leave.

Ranboo hadn’t said anything but Tommy could just feel him staring into his soul making him feel guilty.

Tommy wasn’t someone people would refer to as nice he was selfish and hated going out of his way for people he didn’t know.

The only problem here was that he knew Ranboo even if it wasn’t this specific Ranboo he felt like he was betraying him when he began to leave.

“Hey, since we’re going to go the same way anyway do you wanna tag along?,” Tommy was more than embarrassed he hated everything about how he had said that.

Ranboo’s eyes seemed to light up with that and he quickly grabbed all his stuff from the cave “If you don’t mind then sure!,”.

Tommy could already tell it was going to be a long journey and Ranboo’s overall positivity was going to be the death of Tommy.

“Sure whatever,” Tommy was kinda glad he didn’t have to go alone it was going to be difficult to suddenly show up to people he already knew and be a stranger.

At least with Ranboo here he wouldn’t be alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay another chapter :D, honestly Ranboo's design was pretty last minute so I might change it up when I get the chance.


	6. Chapter 6 - Starting Travels

So Tommy probably should’ve thought this through more.

He had asked Ranboo to come along with him but how exactly was that going to work?

Ranboo didn’t have a horse and the next town down the road to get one would be at least a two day trip.

Tommy sighed when he came to the realisation, Ranboo would either have to walk or they were going to both ride on Frederic.

Now Tommy didn’t doubt Ranboo’s physical capabilities the man was pretty fast but he doubted that Ranboo could keep up with a horse for very long.

Well this was definitely going to be some form of awkward torture for Tommy he had not anticipated having to share a horse.

Tommy jumped up onto Frederics back and offered his hand to Ranboo “c’mon lets get going,”.

Ranboo grabbed Tommy’s hand and he hauled the boy onto Frederics back behind Tommy.

Honestly Ranboo didn’t mind riding with someone else he really wasn’t one for so called social norms so riding with someone he had just met wasn’t weird to him at all.

Weird was the key word there because it most definitely was still awkward he had only met Tommy a day ago but he could already tell he was the lone wolf type.

It was probably weird for him to bring Ranboo along especially since they were practically strangers, Ranboo had actually expected Tommy to leave before he even woke up.

Ranboo was kinda glad to see that Tommy had stuck around; most people wouldn’t do that especially given Ranboo’s outward appearance.

Ranboo knew that in this country it was less likely but there was always someone who discriminated against hybrids and Ranboo really hated it when that happened.

Tommy however couldn’t give less of a flying fuck about Ranboo’s heritage he was in no place to judge.

Plus it was just a dick move to judge someone’s value on who their parents were especially since hybrids were usually better than humans in most aspects.

Frederic didn’t waste any time when he got to moving and he began to make his way down the beaten path carved from generations of people walking through here.

Ranboo was not expecting how fast Frederic could go and he had to grab onto Tommy just so that he wouldn’t fall off.

Usually people would just buy your average horse from a village but Tommy wanted to get there as quickly as possible.

“With this horse we’ll be there in a week!” Ranboo had never ridden a horse this fast and he was excitedly looking around as his surroundings became a blur.

“Yup, Frederic here’s pretty fast as long as we don’t run into trouble,” Tommy was well aware of the dangers of taking such a well known route.

Usually you’d get your run of the mill bandits just trying to make a few coins but every so often you’d run into pillagers which was never fun.

_“What’s a pillager? I thought they were all just called villagers?” Tommy stood next to the kitchen counter listening to his father ramble about something over dinner._

_“Well pillagers are like a subspecies of villager, they’re more violent and they usually try and take over the land in their area,” Phil continued to cut some vegetables as Tommy wondered._

_“So they’re like mobs? But smarter,” Phil nodded at least Tommy caught on fairly quick “Yup, if you ever do run into some it’s best to just run, they can track you down if you get too close,”._

_“How do they do that?” Phil chuckled “They’ve got this mob with them called a ravager and if you get too close to one they can smell you,”._

_“Just like Techno!,” Techno probably would’ve hit Tommy if he heard that comparison “Not quite, Techno may have a good sense of smell but these things can track you for days even through rain and snow,”._

_Tommy didn’t see what the big deal was villagers were pretty easy to kill so why would these pillagers be any different._

_Even if they had this mob that could track him he could just kill it before it had the chance._

_“Enough of this talk dinner’s almost ready, go get your brothers,” Tommy nodded and raced out the door the three of them would be back together soon enough._

\---

They were a few hours through the day now as the sun was right above their heads scorching down on the two boys.

“We should probably stop by a stream, I don’t want Frederic to overheat,” Tommy hadn’t anticipated how hot it would be since they definitely should’ve been going into winter.

But of course Tommy was thinking of the seasons back home; they were probably all out of whack here for all Tommy knew it could be the smack dab in the middle of summer.

“Sure thing! From what the map says there should be one a few miles up ahead,” Ranboo clutched the map with determination that he was not going to let it fly off while they were riding.

Tommy was glad that he had brought Ranboo along for now otherwise he would have to stop every once and a while to make sure he was going in the right direction.

Though trusting Ranboo with the map was a bit of a stretch especially since the first thing he did with it was turn it upside down in confusion.

It wasn’t that hard to get used to reading the map however and about half an hour into their journey and many wrong directions they were setting a steady course for the Ender Settlement.

Tommy was more than happy to see that Ranboo could entertain himself on their journey and only every hour or so struck up a conversation.

Ranboo probably didn’t want to be kicked off the horse and it was a wise decision, Tommy didn’t want to become buddy buddy with an alternate version of one of his friends acquaintances.

Frederic began to slow down as the sounds from the stream began to pierce through the shrubbery.

Tommy slipped himself off of the horse just outside the stream and Ranboo followed in suit, surprisingly being able to get down by himself.

“Didn’t need my help this time? I’m truly hurt,” Tommy mocked “W-Well I’m more than capable of doing it on my own,” Ranboo huffed as he made his way towards the water.

Tommy liked to tease others it was just in his playful nature, even if he wasn’t as energetic as he used to be before Tommy felt a sense of similarity when he talked with Ranboo.

Tommy probably just needed a friend but he would never admit it especially with his poor track record of previous friends last of which had blown up his home and lead him to the dirt tower-

No.

Tommy didn’t want to think about it.

That was irrelevant now.

Tommy leaned down to the water and splashed his face pulling himself out of his thoughts and also cooling down a bit.

Frederic also took a sip from the stream parched from all the walking he had done today.

“I’m gonna go look around, keep an eye on Frederic ‘kay?” Ranboo nodded and Tommy began to wander off.

Ranboo would be fine with Frederic if anything happened the man was more than capable of defending himself and the horse.

Meanwhile Tommy snooped around the stream looking for any sort of small hiding places.

People left all sorts of things in secret chests; it was just a matter of finding them and streams were a pretty common place to hide valuables.

It was probably a psychological thing about how people are drawn to clean water or whatever but it made Tommy’s life so much easier.

Stealing from these chests was easy and no one really thought of getting a trapped chest because they were never worth the money.

Tommy struck gold so to speak when he found a small opening in one of the rock faces and he stuck his hand inside.

Instead of the usual creepy crawlies that would hang around in those sorts of places there was a small button.

Tommy pressed the button and the sound of a piston could be heard before a small hatch opened up in the rock next to him.

Typical, people thought just because they had a secret door no one would be able to find their valuables and people were definitely wrong.

Tommy picked through the various items only really paying attention to the small bag of emeralds in the back of the chest.

The rest of the items seemed to just be there for sentimental value and although Tommy was an asshole he wasn’t going to steal that.

Tommy knew what it was like when someone he had valued was taken away something that was worth more than his netherite or emeralds.

_I wonder who has my discs now._

**_Probably the green fuck. Yeah. definitely the green guy_ **

_That would make sense; dreams had always loved being in control._

**_We don’t like him. We should punt him in the face. Yeah! When we get to the settlement we should beat his lime green ass._ **

Wow okay Tommy didn’t know that his thoughts had taken on such a violent attitude.

Could Tommy even call these voices his own thoughts anymore? It was weird they seemed to take on a personality of their own.

It didn’t really matter Tommy didn’t care enough to find out and he certainly didn’t want to tell someone else just to be called crazy.

Tommy decided to head back over to Ranboo happy with his haul of around fifteen emeralds which would definitely come in handy when trading in the next few towns.

“Heyo,” Tommy walked back over to Ranboo and Frederic who were both lying down under one of the shaded “Ah! You back,” Ranboo seemed happy to see Tommy.

“Yeah, got some good loot too,” Tommy smirked as he thought of the riches he could find on this trip “Loot? Where’d you get that?” Ranboo was confused; you usually only get loot from dungeons and monsters.

“Oh it’s all around the place, people hide chests so often it’s impossible not to find at least one,” Tommy waved it off like it was nothing usually people didn’t really think about this sort of stuff.

“Really? I hadn’t even noticed that’s so cool,” Ranboo didn’t even think about that even though he had also hidden a few chests back at home.

“I’ll show you tomorrow it’s pretty easy to spot once you get used to it,” and with that promise they hopped back onto Frederic and began their journey once more.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful as they idly chatted while riding along making good progress towards their destination.

As the sun began to head down all three of them were utterly exhausted and were in need of some sort of shelter for the night.

There were a few caves around this area so they headed towards the closest one, it wasn’t as big as the one the night before but they would manage.

Tommy leashed Frederic up and began to set up a fire hoping to at least warm up his food a little before he had to eat it.

Ranboo pulled out his own set of rations and began to cook them on the fire as well while Tommy went outside to set up some torches.

They wouldn’t completely deter monsters but at least it would give them a small window of opportunity to attack before they got too close.

“We should probably sleep in shifts in case any mobs come by,” Tommy walked back into the cave to sit down next to the warm fire.

“Sure,” Ranboo was honestly too preoccupied with his food to fully register what Tommy was talking about.

“Okay cool, I’ll take the first watch you should get some sleep,” Tommy grabbed his meat off the fire and began to nibble on it knowing it would take a while before he could keep the meal down.

“Wake me up if you need me,” was Ranboo’s last words before he was whisked away into a peaceful slumber.

Good.

Tommy walked outside of the cave and surveyed his surroundings.

There were a few mobs out even if it was only barely nighttime now but Tommy didn’t mind.

He was stressed and if there was one thing he took from Techno it was how he dealt with his stress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't have enough time to draw so have just a normal chapter lol


	7. Chapter 7 - Sleepy

Ranboo walked over to the back of the cave and began to sleep.

Frederic was already fast asleep by the time Ranboo and Tommy had finished their dinner so it was probably time they all went to bed.

Tommy had decided to do a watch system like people usually did in big groups so that meant Ranboo had to get this sleep while he could.

It was fine Ranboo was used to not sleeping much, he was a light sleeper and mobs would always wake him up during the night.

Ranboo had fallen asleep rather quickly but he was still aware of his surroundings, noticing that Tommy had decided to sit down near the entrance of the cave after Ranboo had gone away.

Tommy was probably just watching out for any mobs.

Ranboo then noticed how Tommy began to shuffle around before becoming completely silent,  _ had he left the cave? _

It was odd.

Ranboo couldn’t see Tommy anywhere inside the cave but he wasn’t worried Tommy wouldn’t try and leave without Frederic.

_ So where had he run off to? _

Ranboo mental noted Tommy’s disappearance and went back to sleep not wanting to lose the few hours he had to get some shut eye.

\---

Tommy was still unsatisfied.

He had walked back into the cave not too long ago but he didn’t feel much better than he had before.

Tommy had managed to get through quite a few hoards of mobs not really caring from finesse as he brutally tore them apart.

But it wasn’t enough.

Tommy still felt the urge to rip everything apart.

It made sense honestly.

Tommy had been under high amounts of stress in such a short time that it was bound to affect him.

But he didn’t think it would affect him to this degree; he had even fallen back into old habits like going hunting to relieve his stress.

Tommy knew that killing everything he could find probably wasn’t the healthiest way to relieve his stress but he didn’t have any other way.

Talking to Ranboo did help some but it wasn’t enough.

The little voice in the back of his mind was always there picking apart whatever the other said.

It didn’t matter much now, Tommy was tired and intended on getting at least a little bit of sleep.

It was probably only a few hours until sunrise since Tommy had spent the majority of the night hunting mobs but it was fine.

Even a few hours of sleep was better than none and he would feel a bit silly suggesting this whole switching thing and not switching over.

Tommy went over to Ranboo’s sleeping body and tapped him on the shoulder a few times waking Ranboo up easily.

“Your turn,” was all Tommy had said before he went over to lean on the wall and get some sleep of his own.

Ranboo noted how Tommy seemed to have more bloodstains on his jacket than before.

Tommy didn’t really care as he went off to sleep.

Ranboo went over to the cave entrance and sat down looking over to Tommy who had fallen fast asleep so easily.

Ranboo didn’t know what to think of the boy but he knew he needed to keep and eye out just in case.

Tommy didn’t seem like a bad guy but that didn’t mean he wasn’t suspicious especially when he so casually wanders off and comes back covered in blood.

\---

Ranboo didn’t expect the sun to come up so early into his watch that meant that Tommy had spent almost the entire night awake.

Not that Ranboo was complaining he was up and ready for the day but Tommy must be some sort of tired.

Staying up that late continuously could really cause some issues so Ranboo would make sure to take the first shift next time.

At least then Tommy could get some semblance of rest before they took off for the day.

“Hey Frederic,” Ranboo greeted the horse as he slowly began to wake up.

Tommy was up not long after still looking tired from whatever he had done that night.

“Let's get going early today, it’ll give us some more time to rest along the way,” Tommy went over to grab his things off the floor and place them back in the bag on Frederics back.

Ranboo followed in suit and grabbed his own bag and strung it across his shoulder.

“Y’know you can just put that on Frederic,” Ranboo nodded “Yeah but I like being able to grab my book there’s so much cool stuff to see on the road,”.

Tommy chuckled a bit before accepting Ranboo’s answer, normally people found traveling to be boring so it was an interesting take on things.

“Okay, well let's get going,” Tommy hopped back onto Frederic and grabbed Ranboo and pulled him up as well.

As much as Ranboo said he was capable on his own he still struggled getting onto Frederic without help.

To be fair the position Ranboo sat wasn’t what he was used to when he usually rode horses so it was probably awkward to get the hang of it.

They set off at dawn down the makeshift pathways until everything blurred into one the hours passing by smoothly.

Ranboo had gotten used to Frederics speed so he didn’t really need to hold onto Tommy anymore.

So instead he started writing down in his book, Tommy had given Ranboo more than enough to write about so that preoccupied him for a good few hours.

Lunchtime arrived sooner than Ranboo had expected and Tommy stopped by one of the many streams to give Frederic a break.

Tommy tied Frederic to one of the trees and grabbed his axe “C’mon,” Tommy began to walk off and Ranboo was confused.

“Where are we going?” Ranboo followed along anyway not wanting to get left alone “I’m gonna show you how to find those chests remember?”

Ranboo had honestly forgotten about that which was prettier on character for him but still he was glad that Tommy had remembered.

Ranboo was really curious about these secret chests and if Tommy could show him how to find them it would make things so much easier.

Tommy explained that people usually left chests around streams and rocks because they thought it would make them harder to find.

Obviously because most people did this it meant chests were actually easier to find and even your average person would come across a chest every now and then.

Tommy had shown Ranboo a few ways to find a chest and where they were usually hidden and even found a few along the rocks.

Ranboo was honestly surprised how many chests he was able to find in just a small area and wondered how many would be around if they were at a bigger stream.

Although Ranboo had only managed to find one chest he was still happy with himself especially since the chest had a fair amount of emeralds.

Ranboo knew how annoying it was to go emerald farming so he was more than thankful for the freebie.

After about an hour both boys decided it would be best to get back onto the road they didn’t want to lose too much time traveling.

They were both eager to get to the settlement even if it was for different reasons so they both tried their best to stay on the road for as long as possible.

At the rate they were going they could probably make it there in under a week if they really pushed it but in all likelihood they’d be there by next week.

It was a short travel time but it still gave both enough time to get used to each other and Ranboo was hoping he could at least be Tommy’s friend by the end of it.

Ranboo has had several traveling companions over the years and he always made it his goal to become friends with them during the trip.

It didn’t mean that they had to have complete trust in each other but he’d like to be able to at least hold a good conversation with them.

Ranboo was a pretty social person so he liked being able to talk to others because people always had such interesting stories.

Ranboo was curious about the story behind Tommy’s reason for trying to join up but knew he probably wouldn’t be able to hear it within the short time they had together.

Tommy seemed like a fairly closed off person and instead of talking about himself he would talk about others.

Ranboo also noticed that Tommy never named anyone in his stories but that wasn’t a big deal everyone had something to hide.

Even Ranboo had his secrets so he couldn’t go around judging people for thiers.

\---

It was mid afternoon now and Ranboo had almost finished writing everything down in his journal.

Tommy was tired but refused to stop wanting to get past the next town before sundown so they could find a half decent cave.

Especially since caves were more sparse in the area and most of them were naturally generated so they were deep and had several enrtances.

That was always a big problem because Mobs could pop up from behind you while you were sleeping even if you did have someone on watch.

To camp out in those sorts of caves it was always better to have a bigger group but since it was just the two of them going there would be a big problem.

Of course there was always the chance that some other group was also in the cave.

Tommy was surprised they hadn’t run into anyone the previous night but it was more than likely they would now.

Since there was a lack of caves here there was always going to be someone else in the cave you wanted to go in.

Sometimes people were nice about it like Ranboo had been but there was always a chance of someone chasing you away because they don’t want to share.

Tommy hated it when people would tell him to piss off from caves it wasn’t like they owned the area so who were they to tell him what to do.

\---

Tommy could feel the bags under his eyes as they started to make their way towards the marked out cave on the map.

The first sign that someone else was there was always the fact that people had already set up torches.

Tommy could see the lights from a distance and decided to go at a slower pace towards the cave.

The two jumped off Frederic so that they could walk over and it was clear that it was a big group of people.

There was about five of them sitting around a campfire outside and another three or so wandering in and out of the cave.

It was probably a caravan of people and Tommy’s suspicions were proven correct when he saw the carriage filled with crates probably some sort of shipment.

Tommy sighed, he wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight especially with how loud these people were already proving to be.

The two boys walked over to the campfire and one of the men took notice of thier presence.

“Hey there! Are you two camping out as well?” The youngest looking of the lot walked out towards Tommy and Ranboo greeting them both.

“Yeah, mind if we hang around?” Tommy noticed how Ranboo was hesitant to talk to these people, maybe he was shy around big groups?

“Not at all! Come over I’ll show you where you can tie up the horse,” the man started to walk over towards the cave entrance and Tommy followed.

Ranboo decided to sit down with the other few people around the fire and they began to introduce themselves.

Tommy was surprised how quickly they were to start talking but it was probably because they were curious.

Tommy followed the man over to a fencepost and tied Frederic up so that he was safe for the night.

“My names Greyson by the way, we’re all part of a trading party,” Greyson went back over to the fire and sat down “I’m Tommy,”.

Greyson seemed to be the most energetic of all of the men and was more than happy to start rambling about their travels as soon as Ranboo asked.

They all continued to laugh and chat as the sun went down and Tommy was surprised at how relaxed they were despite it being nighttime.

They hadn’t really torched up the area much and the biggest source of light was the campfire so Tommy was surprised to not see any mobs around yet.

Tommy was about ready to head off to the cave but instead he was coerced into eating with the rest of the group.

They had also brought out some drinks for everybody but Tommy could tell by just a glance that it was probably alcohol.

Now drinking in big party’s like this wasn’t uncommon but it was a recipe for disaster for as soon as a hoard attacked the group they’d be like fish in a barrel.

Tommy kindly declined the offer for a drink and instead settled on eating his own rations, if he even tried to eat whatever meat they had cooked he’d probably throw up.

Greyson also seemed to not be drinking which was at least competent; they should always keep at least a few of them sober.

Tommy could feel his tiredness start to creep up on him so he decided to head into the cave waving the men a quick night before slinking away.

Tommy was usually the center of attention with his loud self but he seemed to have lost his social energy over the last few months.

Right now he just wanted to curl up into a corner and be alone since it would be so much easier than talking to others.

After a few minutes Tommy was able to drift off to sleep but not before he heard the others start to quiet down, probably getting ready to shut down for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may be slower updating cuase schools coming back yaaaaayyyyy, anyway I love some of the theories y'all are coming up with so keep it up <3


	8. Chapter 8 - It Had To Happen Eventually

**_Get up._ **

_ What? _

**_You must Get Up. Wake up._ **

**_Hurry._ **

**_Hurry!_ **

Tommy shot up from his slumber in a cold sweat.

His hands were shaking and he didn’t understand why the voices were yelling at him had it all been just a stupid dream?

No.

Tommy wasn’t one to ignore his instinct and something felt off.

It was dark.

Too dark.

The wind was beating against Tommy’s arms.

Tommy’s arms?

He hadn’t taken off his jacket. 

Why could he feel the wind?

And why couldn’t he see a goddamn thing.

Tommy’s questions came to a stop as he felt the fabric wrapped around his head.

A blindfold.

That probably also meant-

Yup Tommy’s hands were tied tightly behind his back.

Of course the people they shared a cave with ended up being some sort of bandits.

Honestly it should’ve been more obvious no one was that nice to people without ulterior motives.

Even when Tommy had met Ranboo the two were suspicious of each other.

But Tommy was tired; he didn’t have the energy to even notice the small signs which could’ve prevented this outcome.

Where was he?

**_Ground. Grass. We must escape. Kill them._ **

_ Shut up! _

Tommy was trying to concentrate and the voices were most definitely not helping.

Tommy could still feel the cold stone of the cave walls so he was probably still inside but he had no idea where.

Tommy began to shuffle around alerting his captures that he was awake.

“Well lookie here, I thought you’d be out for at least a few more hours,” It was an unfamiliar voice probably one of the men Tommy hadn’t talked to.

“Fuck you,” Tommy spat in the direction of the voice and guaging by the reaction it must’ve hit them.

Tommy felt a sharp pain in his face as the man punched him in anger “Fucking- You little asshole,” the man walked away after that leaving Tommy with whoever else was around.

Tommy could hear the whispers of about two people so they were probably the people who were guarding him.

**Where’s Ranboo? They’ve taken him. We need him.**

**You need to escape.**

**Use the rock. Yes! Use the rock.**

Tommy felt around behind him and grabbed onto a fairly sharp rock and began to work it onto the rope trying to cut.

Tommy was about halfway through cutting the rope when he heard more people enter the room.

“Get up asshole,” The man from before grabbed Tommy’s arm and began to drag him to where Tommy assumed outside was.

Tommy was thrown onto the ground and he could hear someone speak up “Where are ya keeping all your valuables kid,” The voice moved closer to Tommy’s face as it spoke.

“Fuck off,” Tommy sat himself up confident enough to curse the man infront of him “Well I was gonna go easy on ya kid but if you insist,” Tommy felt a sharp pain in his stomach as the man kicked him over.

Tommy could feel the air leave his lungs as he coughed up blood “Wow, you’re a lot more frail than ya look especially without the jacket,” The man kicked into Tommy’s stomach again leaving him wordless.

**_Jacket? Wilburs Jacket._ **

**_He has the jacket_ **

**_Take it back._ **

**_Kill him._ **

“Your friend was a lot easier than you kid,” the man leant down and removed Tommy’s blindfold, now Tommy could see his surroundings.

He was outside besides the campfire and it was still definitely nightime.

**_Friend._ **

**_Ranboo? Is he okay?_ **

**_What did they do?_ **

**_Why was he easier?_ **

**_Did they hurt him?_ **

**_Hurt them._ **

“He gave up after a few cuts y’know, I bet you’ll be move fun,” The man smirked as he pulled Tommy up off the ground making them stand face to face.

**_Kill him. Kill. He hurt us._ **

**_Kill him quickly._ **

**_We need to find Ranboo._ **

**_Kill him._ **

Tommy looked the man straight in the eye and slammed his head against the mans causing the man to fall over.

Tommy could tell there were about five people apart from the man standing around and they all ran over when they saw what Tommy did.

Tommy ripped the ropes of his hands causing a painful burn that he’d have to deal with later before he made a dash for the first attacker.

The women who came first had a mace in her hands and swung straight down aiming for Tommy’s head.

Tommy dodged out of the way and used the momentum to slam his elbow into the lady’s neck knocking her to the ground.

The lady struggled to get back up but Tommy cut her off with a swift stomp to the head.

Blood began to pool around her and the voices seemed satisfied.

**_Good job! Awesome. Get rekt lady!_ **

**_More. the others. Kill them too._ **

Tommy grabbed the mace from the womens body and began to fight with the other two men that were running towards him.

Both of them had some sort of sword so it was easy to maneuver around them and get a nice hit in the gut which caused one of them to fall over screaming.

The guy probably had a preexisting injury on his stomach and Tommy had just beaten the shit out of it.

The second guy seemed a bit more competent even managing to land a solid hit on Tommy’s arm but he’d left himself open.

Tommy swung down onto the man crushing his skull on impact splattering the blood all over including on Tommy.

The last person wasn’t attacking.

They must’ve been frozen in fear because they didn’t even fight back when Tommy had gone up to them.

Tommy swung into the person's face and a bone chilling crack could be heard for miles along with a scream.

Tommy looked around and saw that the other members of the group weren’t in the camp.

Tommy sighed in relief as he saw Frederic still tied up to the post along with all his items.

They’d probably planned to take Frederic with them so they just kept Tommy’s items in the pouches which was lucky as hell.

Tommy painfully pulled himself up onto Frederic and grabbed the horses reins with his injured hand leaving the other hand to hold the mace.

\---

Ranboo was following his captures unaware of his own surroundings as the blindfold blocked his vision.

Ranboo had never really been robbed before since he had always managed to somehow get out of the predicament.

But this time there were just too many people to fight and they had drugged the drink that they had given him.

Ranboo realised too late what was happening and as he went to go warn Tommy he’d passed out cold.

Next thing you know and he was tied up and being interrogated by some crazy dude with a knife.

Ranboo knows he doesn’t do well under pressure and this situation was no exception to that as he gave them his stuff.

Luckily he still had a few things in his inventory that they hadn’t checked for like his sword but that was kinda useless when his hands were tied.

Greyson had asked if he could ‘play’ with Ranboo and the leader agreed letting Greyson and a few of his mates go out into the forest.

They were probably going to beat him a bit and leave him for the mobs which wasn’t Ranboo’s ideal situation.

Instead Ranboo decided to just sit back and wait for an opportunity to escape to present itself.

“This thing is so manky I’m surprised it hasn’t fallen apart,” Greyson was chuckling with his friends as they went deeper into the woods “I still think it’s weird you took the guys jacket,”.

Greyson just scoffed “He could’ve been hiding shit and it kinda looks cool,” Greyson started dancing around in the jacket showing it off as a prize.

Ranboo couldn’t see what was happening but he could feel the smug attitude radiate through the air.

These people were so sure of themselves that they were able to joke around like this even in this type of situation.

“Isn’t this a good enough spot-,” One of the men began to speak but was cut off by a scream echoing throughout the forest.

Ranboo’s blood went cold it sounded like it had come from where the cave was “Jeez, they're really going at it with the hobo guy,” Greyson let out a laugh and they continued to wander into the forest.

After about ten minutes of walking they stopped and Ranboo could feel one of the men go behind him.

“Let’s get our own party started then,” Greyson gave permission and the guy behind Ranboo pushed him over onto the ground.

Ranboo landed face first into the sticks and rocks below him and he could feel something piercing his skin.

“Argh!,” Ranboo let out a pained sound before he felt a boot land firmly on his back “Maybe if you grovel on the ground we’ll let you go?,” That got a laugh out of all of them as they all took turns beating him.

It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes until the beatings stopped and Ranboo could hear one of the men screaming out in pain.

\---

Tommy was racing through the forest on Frederic keeping an eye on where the tracks lead.

He was definitely pissed and a pissed Tommy wasn’t someone you wanted to mess with.

Tommy heard laughing up ahead and he jumped off of Frederic so that he could stalk over quietly.

Tommy saw a group of men surrounding someone kicking the shit out of them in turns as they all laughed.

He didn’t need to see anymore so Tommy lunged forward bringing down the mace onto one of the men who let out a shriek.

The other three including Greyson turned to Tommy in shock he hadn’t even hesitated to crack into their friends' skulls.

One of the men went to tackle Tommy over without any weapon and it was painfully easy to bludgeon them even if Tommy had lost his grip on the weapon.

Now Tommy was empty handed once more and Greyson took this as his opportunity to attack lunging forward at Tommy with a dagger in hand.

Tommy grabbed Greysons wrist and brought his knee up to the mans face, knocking out a few teeth.

The third man ran away in fear and Tommy wasn’t bothered to chase after him instead he grabbed the still lit up torch that the man had dropped.

**_He’s still alive. We need you to get rid of him._ **

Tommy looked over at Greyson who was writhing on the ground from the pain of his broken nose and lost teeth.

Tommy saw that the man was wearing his jacket and that was all the motive he needed before he shoved the torch into the man's face.

Greyson cried out for a few seconds before he went limp, his face turned into a fleshy puddle by the flames.

Tommy ripped his jacket from the man and took a deep breath trying to calm himself down.

**_Ranboo. Help him. Get him._ **

Tommy turned over to face Ranboo who had positioned himself against one of the nearby trees.

Tommy walked over and could see the fear radiating off of Ranboo who had no idea what had just happened.

“Are you okay?,” Tommy lifted up Ranboo’s blindfold and the boy just stared at him in shock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double chapter cuase I might be dead for a few days wooo, alternatively I can just write and not draw for the next few chapters so I can get them out faster.


	9. Chapter 9 - Stressful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's see who in the class has been paying attention

“Uh…,” Ranboo didn’t know what to say.

Tommy had taken off Ranboo’s blindfold and was covered in blood and bruises.

The blood definitely wasn’t his own except for an injury on his arm and Tommy actually looked worried for Ranboo.

To top it all off Tommy had lost control during the fight and his usually crystal blue eyes turned to that of fiery red and yellow.

It was mostly a stress thing, Tommy used to have a hard time as a child hiding his more hybrid features so he had suppressed them.

This of course wasn’t healthy and under the right amount of stress and with some blood involved his hybrid attributes would pop up.

Tommy hadn’t even noticed this until he saw the look on Ranboo’s face, one he was all too familiar with.

Not many people on the smp even knew of Tommy’s hybrid nature but when some of them found out they’d all made that same face.

Shit.

This wasn’t something Tommy wanted to deal with or explain.

**_He’s afraid of you. He’ll leave you behind._ **

**_We should just kill him! No! Maybe he’s different?_ **

**_He’s a hybrid as well. It should be fine._ **

**_Maybe we should trust him?_ **

**_No._ **

**_We can’t trust anybody._ **

**_We can just hope he won't tell anyone now._ **

Tommy felt like dying from embarrassment he should’ve been able to handle this.

Ranboo’s staring didn’t help whatsoever and Tommy felt himself shrink down into himself not wanting Ranboo to stare any longer.

It would probably take a few hours for his eyes to change back so Tommy was internally cursing himself for losing control.

“Let’s go, we can travel through the night,” Tommy knew that neither of them would be able to sleep after that and Frederic looked more than happy to continue their journey.

“Oh! Yeah sure,” Ranboo looked away awkwardly not really knowing how to address the whole situation right now.

“I’ve got all your stuff on Frederic so we don’t need to back track to the camp,” Tommy pointed to the satchel on Frederics back and Ranboo rushed over making sure everything was there.

Ranboo also noted the blood all around his feet.

Tommy had killed the men who had taken him.

Ranboo only took one glance at the now charred Greyson and knew he didn’t need to see anymore.

Tommy saved Ranboo and that should be all that matters right now not the way he had saved Ranboo.

Tommy stepped over the corpses with little care and carefully pulled himself up onto frederics back still wincing from the pain in his arm.

Ranboo noticed the injury and pulled out some bandages from his bag “Pass me your arm, If it gets infected your fucked,” Ranboo jumped up behind Tommy and began wrapping the bandages around his arm.

“What about you? Got any bad cuts,” Tommy looked behind him and Ranboo waved it off “It’s fine I didn’t get anything too bad just some killer bruises,” Ranboo chuckled a bit with Tommy and they both set off.

It was still the middle of the night so they were mostly relying on Frederics sense of direction as they traveled through the woods.

Tommy had not spoken a word since they had covered up their wounds and Ranboo really couldn’t blame him.

Tommy was obviously a hybrid that much was clear to Ranboo.

But like many other hybrids Tommy tried to hide his hybrid traits so when Ranboo saw them Tommy probably felt all types of shit.

Ranboo still remembers the day he’d tried hiding his heritage but it never really worked out so he had learned to just embrace it.

Sure there were still people who discriminated against him but Ranboo didn’t mind too much that was their opinion, it didn’t mean he had to value it.

Tommy was probably different from Ranboo.

Everyone had their reasons to hide stuff like this and Ranboo wasn’t going to judge Tommy for his.

Especially since Tommy seemed very unwilling to talk about it almost like he was ashamed that he had lost control.

So Ranboo decided to ride in silence not wanting to make anything worse than it already was.

\---

Tommy felt like shit.

That was probably the understatement of the century but there was no better way to put it.

First of all one of the fuckers had ripped a hole in his jacket's sleeve which was just going to be a pain to fix.

He also had to deal with the fact that Ranboo saw him go on a bloody murder spree then just show up with his freaky eyes.

Honestly Tommy wouldn’t blame the boy if he didn’t want to travel together anymore.

Not everyone could stomach the sight of someone elses face being burned off and Tommy was no exception.

It had been awhile since he’d been made to kill someone.

It was always a conflicting feeling for Tommy because his instincts told him it was fine while his mind screamed at him to stop.

Tommy was definitely gonna be sick.

He would probably skip out on the next few meals for his own sanity, Tommy couldn’t even stomach the thought of food right now.

**_You’re the one who killed them. Why are you feeling guilty?_ **

**_I think we should’ve spared at least some. Nah they all deserved to die._ **

**_Did you see how cool it looked when that Greyson dude’s face melted off!_ **

**_We should do it again!_ **

**_Again!_ **

Frederic could sense Tommy’s discomfort and stopped by the side of one of the trees to Ranboo’s confusion.

Tommy quickly jumped off of Frederics back and threw up by one of the trees unable to handle his thoughts.

Tommy was definitely panicking; he felt sick to the stomach and all he wanted to do was cry.

Tommy’s breaths began more sporadic as he leaned against the tree trying to anchor himself somehow.

This was a normal human reaction to doing the things that Tommy did but he still felt weak, why couldn’t he handle this?

Ranboo jumped off the horse in concern and walked over to Tommy who was already spiralling.

Ranboo hadn’t seen Tommy like this before and it was a scary sight to see.

Tommy looked like he was on the verge of tears as he heaved for air.

Ranboo wasn’t one for comforting people in fact he was pretty awkward in that regard so all he could really do was rub circles into Tommy's back as the boy tried to calm himself down.

**_Why’s he sad? This doesn’t make sense._ **

**_We should just shut up. You shut up!_ **

**_He’s spiralling just like the tower._ **

Tommy managed to get himself into some semblance of a normal headspace and he leant his back against the tree with a sigh.

Ranboo had been next to him from some time and Tommy could see the worry in his expression.

Ranboo grabbed some water from Tommy’s bag and passed it over, water is probably the only thing Tommy could keep down right now.

“C’mon, You can ride in the back and try and get some sleep?,” Ranboo was concerned to say the least and definitely didn’t want Tommy’s being in control of Frederic in that state.

Tomy was uncharacteristically lucid agreeing with a nod before Ranboo pulled himself and Tommy up onto the horse.

Tommy didn’t have enough strength to hold himself on Frederic without falling over so he wrapped his arms around Ranboo before they set off in silence.

Tommy could feel himself slowly drift in and out into consciousness before he completely fell asleep leaning against Ranboo’s back.

\---

_ Tommy was running around the house not really caring for the racket he was making as his brothers talked with Phil upstairs. _

_ Phil had told Tommy he wasn’t allowed to go into the room which made Tommy mad, why was he the only one getting left out! _

_ This always happened honestly the three of them would go off to a room somewhere to talk about ‘grown up’ stuff and they’d always lock Tommy out. _

_ It didn’t make sense Phil usually told him everything even if he supposedly wasn’t old enough Tommy would always manage to get it out of the man. _

_ Tommy had sat back down on the couch growing bored of running around and instead he flopped backwards onto the couch with a sigh. _

_ There wasn’t much someone could do inside the house but Tommy wasn’t allowed to leave unless he was with one of his brothers. _

_ That rule had been in place ever since he had run off into the forest a few months ago and Tommy was starting to get sick of it. _

_ Especially since his brothers were assholes and wouldn’t let him go with them whenever they went out to do things. _

_ There were plenty of rooms to explore in the house sure but that got boring fairly quickly. _

_ Tommy didn’t even know what half the stuff Phil kept was but he wasn’t bothered to question it. _

_ From what Tommy had known Phil used to be a massive collector of dangerous magical items and he had then retired and kept said items. _

_ Although Tommy had never found anything even remotely dangerous in his adventures through the piles and the most threatening thing he’d found was a weirdly shaped decorative knife. _

_ Tommy knew there was much more dangerous stuff and even a few weapons up in the attic but no one had been bothered to clean that up in years and it was a hassle to even get the door open. _

_ That’s probably why Phil hadn’t bothered to block it off but Tommy was known for going into places he wasn’t supposed to. _

_ It was a mostly unspoken rule of the house to stay out of the attic and the only time Tommy was told about it was when Phil had caught him opening up the door and yelled at him. _

_ That was when Tommy was around seven and he had never bothered to go back in since then because he could just as easily explore outside without restrictions. _

_ But that wasn’t true anymore and the attic was one of the only places in the house left for Tommy to explore. _

_ Tommy stalked his way upstairs trying not to alert the others of his presence and made his way towards the attic’s ladder. _

_ Tommy pulled down the latch and the attic’s door opened up giving Tommy just enough room to squeeze up. _

_ Tommy looked around for a moment at the sea of boxes and his eyes caught on a particular pile. _

_ Tommy tried to make his way over to the older looking boxes until his foot caught and he fell onto the boxes in front of him. _

_ He hit his chin on one of the sharper edges of an item and he could feel his chin start to bleed before the other three rushed over. _

_ Tommy hadn’t even gotten enough time to get a good looma round before Phil had pulled him into the kitchen to patch up his chin. _

_ Just great. _

_ Tommy was definitely going to be in a fowl mood for the rest of the day. _

\---

Tommy slept through the rest of the night dreaming about his childhood as a subconscious attempt to calm himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters probably wont have images just so that I can get them out


	10. Chapter 10 - The Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all the comments ! I may not respond but I'm reading them all so keep it up <3

Ranboo was definitely concercened.

He had been through the ringer last night but he hadn’t been anywhere near as affected by it as Tommy had.

The boy had obviously killed all of the other people at camp and his aversion to going back to grab some items made that clear.

Ranboo knew that murder probably wasn’t the easiest thing to accomplish but he didn’t expect to see Tommy have such a negative reaction.

Ranboo was probably like that when he had first killed someone but he never panicked like that.

Tommy stood by that tree for about an hour before he had managed to calm himself down.

It was definitely a strange situation and Tommy obviously had some issues of his own but that didn’t stop Ranboo from worrying any less.

Even if Ranboo was still a kid himself he knew Tommy was younger and had most certainly been through the ringer.

Tommy’s age was probably why Ranboo had decided to hang around; he'd hate to see what would happen to Tommy if he was left alone.

Ranboo decided as soon as he saw Tommy in that panicked state that he’d stick by him.

Everything about Tommy just felt off, Tommy shouldn’t be reacting like this and it definitely wasn’t healthy.

Ranboo sighed looking behind him to see Tommy still fast asleep leaning against his back.

It was already mid afternoon the next day and Tommy still hadn’t woken up from the night before.

Ranboo was feeling all kinds of guilty about what had happened, he should’ve been able to handle those men on his own.

Tommy’s sleeping state didn’t help Ranboo’s consciousness in the slightest.

It was as if the boy had shut down completely after his breakdown.

Frederic stomped towards the nearest lake already feeling worn out from the day of travel.

The horse decided to stop right in front of the lake to get a drink while Ranboo took in his surroundings.

Because of the extra night of travel they were probably only two or three days away from the settlement.

Ranboo couldn’t wait to get there and finally have some stability in his daily life.

He had always been interested in things like the end and he was more than happy to find out there was a group of people who shared his passion.

Ranboo took a deep breath grounding himself for a moment before they set off once again towards a town.

Ranboo certainly wasn’t going to stay in another cave after last night so his best bet was to rent a room in the nearby town.

Luckily this village seemed to be one of the bigger ones so they usually had an extra house specifically for adventures to rent.

Ranboo flipped Tommy’s hoodie over his head before heading off into the town on top of Frederic.

The town was extremely lively especially since it seemed to be a bigger trading village.

Apart from the villagers making up the majority of the crowd Ranboo also noticed a few people in there as well trading with the locals and even selling goods.

A few people gave quick glances at the duo before turning away trying not to meddle in other people's business.

Ranboo spotted the rental house as it had a big red sign above the dor and he wandered over looking to see if the owner was around.

The villager was around as he was busy talking to one of the other locals until Ranboo trotted over to them and they separated.

_ “What can I do for you sir?”  _ Ranboo slid off of Frederic making sure that Tommy was still securely on the horse  _ “Do you have an available home?” _

The villager nodded and began to lead Ranboo down the path away from the village  _ “This one used to be used as a winter cabin but I’m sure it’ll be just fine for you and your horse,” _ The villager nodded towards the stables by the side on the house and Ranboo grinned.

_ “Thank you very much! How much will it be for the night?” “Just ten emerald for one night,”  _ Ranboo handed over the money and the villager unlocked the door letting him inside.

Ranboo waited for the villager to wander off before he walked Frederic towards the stables tying up the horse to one of the fence posts.

Tommy was still fast asleep on top of Frederics back so Ranboo had to carry him from the stables to the house.

Ranboo dumped Tommy on a bed inside one of the bedrooms and went outside to look at all the other rooms.

It was definitely a small cabin but it still had a kitchen and dining room along with a few bedrooms scattered down the hallway.

Definitely something a lot more comfortable than a cave.

The only benefit of sleeping in caves was that it was free and for someone like Ranboo who was constantly on the road and doesn’t have a job a cave is always the best option.

Ranboo had actually used the emeralds he had found at the stream yesterday to pay for this cabin so he was thankful he had found them when he did.

Tommy wasn’t showing any sign of waking up anytime soon so Ranboo left a note by his bed and went back into town.

\---

Tommy felt like shit.

That probably wasn’t anything new but this was a different sort of shit.

The type where he just wanted to sleep through it all and not have to deal with whatever the world was throwing at him.

Tommy still remembered what had happened.

He wished he could block it all out just like he had done before.

This time was different however.

Someone had actually seen him having a breakdown, something that never happened in his world.

It was something Tommy would’ve never let happen in the other world but here he was weaker.

His mental state was already pretty shabby when he had arrived here and last night just happened to be the piece to topple it all over.

Honestly Tommy thought he had more time to get himself together but reality had different plans for him.

Tommy groaned as he rolled over in his sleep not wanting to open his eyes.

He wasn’t on top of Frederic like he was when he fell asleep instead he was on something that felt strangely like a bed.

Tommy rolled over onto his back and opened his eyes staring at the wooden cabin roof above him.

Ranboo had probably stopped by a village to get them a room.

That meant Tommy had slept through the whole day which was probably the most amount of sleep he’d gotten in a while.

Where was Ranboo?

He had obviously carried Tommy over to the bed but he wasn’t anywhere in the room.

Tommy slowly sat up realising the headache he was now struggling through had been aggravated by his sudden movements.

There was a glass of water along with a note on the side table next to Tommy’s bed so he took the glass and started to drink.

Tommy was probably all sorts of dehydrated especially after yesterdays ‘festivities’ so it was easy for him to chug the whole glass in one swig.

Next was the note which had been placed under the glass so that it didn’t slip away.

‘ **I’m outside in the dining room if you need me - Ranboo** ’

The note was short but from the rustling he could hear from outside the door it probably meant that Ranboo was indeed wherever the dining room was.

Tommy didn’t want to leave his room.

Everything would be so much easier if he could just melt into a puddle.

Tommy sighed heavily before getting up wincing at the creek in the wood probably alerting Ranboo to Tommy’s now awake state.

Tommy could feel how strained he was; he hadn’t had a good fight in quite a long time and he was most definitely not in any condition to go around killing people.

He had barely managed to regain some of his previously lost stamina for the trips with Frederic so fighting had drained Tommy of all his energy.

Tommy opened up the door and it lead to the cabins one and only hallways which in turn would probably lead to the dining room.

Ranboo had already noticed that Tommy was awake but he kept himself seated writing down in his journal while keeping an ear out for any sounds.

Tommy probably didn’t want to come out and talk to Ranboo right now and he was fine with that and wanted to give Tommy whatever space he needed for now.

Honestly Tommy shouldn’t even be out on the road like this at this age and especially not with the state he is in but Ranboo couldn’t judge.

He had started his aimless travels between countries when he was around thirteen so someone doing it at sixteen was probably more prepared than he ever was.

Tommy awkwardly stood in the hallway noticing that Ranboo was sitting down in the other room preoccupied with writing something down.

Tommy decided to walk in there was no point in trying to hide himself now and he didn’t have the energy to try and weasel his way out of this one.

Ranboo looked up from his work when Tommy came and haphazardly sat on one of the chairs swinging his foot over the side of the chair.

“Sup,” Tommy was acting casual with Ranboo now not seeing any need to act anymore, “Good afternoon,” Ranboo’s response was just as bland.

Tommy sighed he felt like he was going to be lectured by one of his brothers whenever he saw the look that Ranboo was giving him.

“Feeling better?,” Ranboo went back to writing in his book turning this into a much more casual conversation for both “Yeah, Thanks for...Y’know,” Tommy felt awkward now.

Usually someone would berate him with questions to the point were Tommy got pissed of and started destroying shit.

“It’s fine, you saved me back there anyway,” Ranboo was grateful that Tommy had come when he did and doing all this was his way of repaying the boy.

Both of them sat there in silence for a few seconds when Tommy realised ranboo had no intention of continuing this conversation “Aren’t you gonna like ask me about everything that happened?,”.

Tommy was confused; he didn’t understand why Ranboo wasn’t trying to pry answers out of him like everyone else would.

“Do you want to talk about it?,” Ranboo closed his book now looking over to Tommy who looked confused, why was he so confused?

“Not really…,” Tommy started to fiddle with his jacket seams feeling less and less confident by the second “Then I wont ask, Everyone has their reasons Tommy you don’t need to tell me anything unless you want to,”.

That was...unexpected.

People always expected answers but Ranboo had let it go so easily?

This didn’t make sense.

**_Maybe he’s different?_ **

**_Maybe we should tell him something? Yeah._ **

**_If we don’t tell him he’ll leave us._ **

**_He doesn’t trust us. Fair._ **

**_This feels weird._ **

That was one thing Tommy could agree with he’d never had someone not pry into his personal life.

It was almost comforting that he could have his own secrets.

“It’s cause I’m a hybrid,” Tommy spoke up and Ranboo looked genuinely confused at his statement “My eyes, they went all weird and glowy last night,” Ranboo nodded.

“I’m used to hiding it so I kinda freaked out when you saw I guess,” Tommy hadn’t openly admitted it to anyone outside his family before it was a well kept secret and even if people saw he would just lie his way out of it.

“I used to be like that for a while, Trying to hide it I mean,” Ranboo chuckled to himself “That certainly didn’t last long I mean just look at me right?,” Tommy chuckled in agreement.

Ranboo definitely had more hybrid traits than Tommy and he doubted that Ranboo would ever be able to successfully hide it from anyone.

The conversation seemed to ease up after that and Tommy enjoyed being able to just normally talk to someone once in a while.

Tommy was usually known for his loudness and general obnoxiousness when he talked to others but every now and then he liked talking to people normally.

Of course he would never do this with anyone other than his family in the other world since it would ruin his whole persona if he was to start acting like a rational human being.

Dinner time approached not long after their conversation had died down and Tommy had eaten a small amount of his rations before putting it away not wanting it to go to waste if he threw up.

Ranboo didn’t seem to mind when Tommy excused himself to go to bed early even if Tommy had slept the whole day he was still utterly exhausted.

Maybe this wasn’t as bad as Tommy first thought.

Tommy smiled to himself before he drifted off to sleep not dreaming of anything for the first time in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably wont post tomorrow since I have work (ew) so have another chapter at like midnight today lol.


	11. Chapter 11 - Finally Arriving

“It’s time to gooo!,” Ranboo was shouting through the house in the middle of the morning already dressed for the day ahead of the duo.

“Yeah! Yeah! Gimme a second jesus,” Tommy finished packing his stuff into the travel bag before he was rushing out the door trying to catch up to Ranboo who was already walking towards town.

“Is this really gonna be the last town until we get there?” Tommy had caught up and was now walking beside Ranboo “Yup, so we gotta make sure we have everything,” Ranboo went straight towards the markets.

Tommy wanted to get something done before they arrived at the settlement so he waved Ranboo off before going his own way.

Tommy was certain that no one at the settlement would recognise him; he certainly didn’t look like his nine year old self and half of the people there hadn’t even met this world's Tommy.

But Tommy’s brothers always seemed to surprise him and he wouldn’t be all that shocked if one of them figured out that the guy who looked exactly like their brother was actually their brother.

So Tommy needs to change a few things.

First things first the blond hair needed to go, as much as Tommy loved his hair colour it was one of the most recognisable things about him.

Tommy knew there would be some sort of hair stylist here especially in a town this big so it only took him ten minute of walking around before he found the shop he was looking for.

Someone was already inside getting their hair cut so it was obvious that this place was a hairdresser.

“ _ Hello sir! What can we do for you? _ ,” The villager at the door seemed prepped and ready for the day and Tommy gave her a few requests “ _ Can you do that? _ ”.

_ “Of course sir! Come take a seat and we’ll get started _ ,” Tommy took a seat at the bench and watched as they made work of his hair.

\---

Ranboo knew that they’d need a few more supplies for the trip especially with their loss of a few things a night ago.

The loss wasn’t too bad but they’d definitely need a few more rations and some better gear to get through the last length of the trip.

The settlement chose their location specifically because it was hard to get to surrounded by rocky mountains to protect them from anything that happened around them.

It was a smart idea but it would be a pain to go through probably taking a day to travel through the mountains when it would’ve taken them a few hours if it was normal terrain.

Ranboo was so caught up in his shopping that he didn’t notice Tommy walking around the same area still on his quest.

Ranboo hadn’t actually given Tommy any sort of timeframe so god knows when the boy would meet Ranboo back at the stables with Frederic so that they could set off.

It would probably take them the rest of the day to get over to the mountain base and another day to actually get to the settlement.

They were extremely close to their goal now and Ranboo could feel his excitement grow as they got closer to the mountains.

Ranboo had finished all his shopping in under an hour which was pretty good so he headed off back towards Frederic so he could load all of the supplies onto the horse before Tommy arrived.

Ranboo was about to finish packing everything onto Frederic when Tommy had returned, definitely accomplishing his goal of looking different.

Tommy’s hair was now an ashy black colour coupled with his now amber eyes, It was easy for Tommy to change his eye colour since blue wasn’t even his natural one but it took a bit of effort so he’d gone off to do it somewhere out of town.

Ranboo seemed confused at first but recognised Tommy’s outfit “Hey?” Ranboo gave Tommy a half hearted greeting before Tommy began to explain.

“Some people at the settlement might recognise me if i’d kept my appearance,” Tommy scratched the back of his head awkwardly “I don’t want them to find out it’s me so can you keep this quiet,”.

Ranboo seemed to understand and nodded in agreement “But wouldn’t they recognise your name as soon as you get there?” Tommy frowned realising they probably would.

“I’ll think about something on the road, just go along with it whenever I do come up with something,” Ranboo shrugged “Sure I don’t really care anyway,”.

Ranboo jumped up onto Frederic in the front part of the saddle and Tommy seemed offended “Excuse me, you’re in my seat,” Ranboo just grinned from above “Not anymore Frederic likes me better,”.

Ranboo hugged the horses neck and Frederic nieghed in approval “Wow, traitor,” Tommy scowled at Frederic before jumping on.

Tommy knew he was in no state to be in charge of the horse and he was glad that Ranboo hadn’t brought it up in a hurtful way.

\---

The journey felt like it was going faster than before and Tommy liked how he could have a candid conversation with Ranboo without having to be overly careful with his words.

Of course Tommy was still on guard but he felt more relaxed in the man's presence after everything that had happened.

An upside of sitting in the back was that Tommy had the free time to do whatever he wanted without having to worry about sterling Frederic around.

There were probably only two things Tommy could do while one the back of a horse and sleeping sounded like the best option for him.

Tommy still needed to regain some of his strength and sleep is always the best medicine so he decided to take a nap while they were in a particularly long silence stretch.

Ranboo hadn’t even noticed that Tommy had gone to sleep until he felt the boy's head land on his back for support.

Ranboo didn’t really mind Tommy sleeping on him and tried to avoid doing anything too dangerous in case it woke the boy up.

Frederic was faster than any other horse Ranboo had ridden before so there had been a lot of trial and error that first night trying not to go too fast in case he fell off.

The difference in horse did make the journey more interesting however since Ranboo had to be wary of all his decisions forcing him to pay attention to all his surroundings.

The day passed quicker this time and the two had made it to the base of the mountain quicker than expected leaving them the whole afternoon to rest.

Ranboo had stopped Frederic outside of a small cave near the path up the mountain that already had a few things like unlit torches set up probably for travelers like the two of them.

Tommy had woken up an hour or so before they reached the mountain and he could sense the excitement coming from Ranboo as they both got closer.

The cave they set up camp in wasn’t like the last few they’d been in and it even had a makeshift door to try and keep monsters out.

Tommy decided to take the first watch of the night since he was already well rested from the sleep he had gotten throughout the day.

Ranboo easily fell asleep at the back of the cave and Tommy went outside the door to go sit by Frederic who was tied up to the fencing blocking off a part of the area.

The urge to go out and hunt mobs was definitely there but Tommy knew if he did that he’d probably just throw up again.

His instincts and mind seemed to have it out for each other and he had to tighten his grip on the axe in his hand just to try and calm himself down.

Frederic’s presence next to Tommy also helped out as he stroked the horses fur feeling some of his stress being relieved.

Tommy didn’t stay up the whole night this time and about halfway through he switched out with Ranboo wanting to get some more sleep.

Tommy needed to mentally prepare himself before he went to the settlement.

A good portion of people he used to know were there.

Including his brothers which was going to be a struggle for Tommy.

He hadn’t really seen any of them in months ever since his exile and to add salt to the wound the people here don’t even know what they’ve done to him.

Tommy was going to have to face almost every important person in his life and pretend like he’s never met them before.

He’d probably have a few breakdowns at first but he could get through it.

It would probably just motivate him further.

Tommy really just wanted to go home.

**_Was that place even home anymore?..._ **

**_They all abandoned you there. Why do we want to go back?_ **

**_Can we even go back?_ **

_ I just need to get to the end then I can go back. _

**_But we should’ve died. What if we’re dead over there?_ **

_ I’ll deal with that when we come to it. _

**_What if they don’t want you back?_ **

**_…_ **

_ … _

_ That’s fine. _

Tommy rolled around in his sleep uncomfortable with the inner monologue he was having right now.

He could deal with all of these problems later, Tommy needed to focus on not screwing up until then.

Speaking of, Tommy needed to think of a new name for himself.

It was probably overkill but Tommy didn’t want anyone to ever find out about him.

Picking a name should be easy but Tommy didn’t want to be stuck with something shit.

It was his new life and he needed a fresh start, a bad name would probably just sour everything for Tommy.

Tommy couldn’t get into the right mindframe instead recalling the events of his past in small flashes.

This was normal.

He’d gotten flashes of the worst parts during exile; it wasn’t something Tommy couldn’t handle.

Yes he now had an undeniable fear of getting shot after the Dream duel and yes he was extremely afraid of traps because of the final control room.

But those things were something that Tommy had been able to overcome.

Tommy still couldn’t forget about how Tubbo abandoned him.

Tommy hadn’t even overcome his trauma from the festival when Wilbur and Techno had both gone apeshit blowing everything up with tnt and withers.

Techno had warned Tommy of the dangers of being a part of a government but he hadn’t listened.

The tale Techno told made Tommy’s heart ache as the similarities were painfully clear to him now.

Maybe that’s why Techno had chosen to tell Tommy that tale, as a warning of what was to come.

Wasn’t like it had worked anyway given Tommy’s current situation.

Tommy grumbled before going back into his dreams not bothered enough to deal with his thoughts.

\---

Ranboo shook Tommy and the boy woke up groggily looking to see that the sun was only just beginning to rise.

“C’mon, If we start now we can get there by this afternoon!” Ranboo’s excitement was warranted but Tommy couldn’t help but grumble,  _ how the hell was he so energetic? _

After a few bites to eat Tommy jumped up onto Frederic behind Ranboo once more who had insisted on being at the front.

At least when Tommy was at the front Ranboo could see over him but with Ranboo Tommy’s view was mostly the others' back.

In Tommy’s defence Ranboo was significantly tall for his own age so Tommy was not short in any way.

This did make the journey more frustrating however since Tommy couldn’t actually tell how close they were until Ranboo told him.

Tommy could tell they were fairly close when Ranboo’s tails began to wave back and forth in excitement , probably an instinct the boy couldn’t help.

Tommy let himself smile a bit as they began to approach the walls of the Ender Settlement built up high enough to have outposts on each corner.

There were people up inside the towers and Tommy lowered his head not liking how someone else had the high ground.

The gated to the settlement opened and a familiar green figure walked outside to greet the two of them.

Ranboo hoped off Frederic first with Tommy following from behind not entirely sure if he could hold back the urge to pull out his axe.

Dream was the one who had come out.

Of course it was him.

Not literally anyone else that Tommy could probably handle being around right now.

“Hey,” dream waved them over “Who are you guys, Are you here to join up?” Dream seemed very relaxed about the situation but Tommy could tell the man was thinking.

“Oh! Yes we are here to join, I’m Ranboo and this is…,” Ranboo looked over at Tommy hoping he would finish the sentence.

Tommy had thought about it for a bit and he had decided what he wanted to be known as.

It was probably a bit cheesy but it meant something at least.

Tommy moved himself from behind Ranboo to his side and nodded.

“You can call me Theseus,”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly didn't even think I could get this out since I had such a long shift at work lol.
> 
> It's a little short but whateverrrrr :/


	12. Chapter 12 - Dream's mistake

Tommy was livid.

Ranboo made sure to stay out of the boy's way as he did his own thing.

Ranboo couldn’t really blame Tommy; they had come all this way.

He thought of what had happened only a few hours ago and sighed, hopefully whatever Tommy’s plan was it would work.

\---

Back to when they had faced Dream and Tommy was still at this time fighting the urge to shove an axe in his face.

Tommy had introduced himself as his faux name and Ranboo gave him a nod of approval liking the choice.

Dream seemed liked he couldn’t care less and took one look at the two boys before making his decision.

“Okay well Ranboo and Theseus, we don’t nearly have enough resources to have two new people joining up right now and no offense but you two don’t look like you’d be that useful,”.

Tommy was going to kill him.

**What a dickhead! Asshole.**

**Kill him. Yeah. Just punch him in the face.**

Tommy looked over to Ranboo probably for some sort of approval but then Tommy had an idea.

_What was even better than killing Dream?_

_Proving him wrong of course._

Tommy stood in front of Ranboo who was lost for words at the moment “That’s alright, we understand if you can’t take us in,” Tommy put on the fakest smile as he grabbed Ranboo’s hand.

“We’ll get out of your hair,” Tommy quickly walked away with Ranboo noticing the smugness Dream had shown when he managed to get them to go away.

Ranboo’s mind blanked out for a minute and he looked at Tommy with surprise.

With the way Tommy was gripping Ranboo’s arm it seemed like Tommy was just about to go kill someone.

“W-what are we going to do?,” Tommy seemed like a man with a plan so Ranboo followed him not wanting to piss the boy off at the moment.

“We’re gonna get into that fucking settlement,” Tommy was more than livid as he led Ranboo further away from the settlement and towards the mountains.

\---

“Why are we mining?,” Ranboo was genuinely confused; he didn’t know what Tommy’s plan was but he could tell that Tommy was sure of himself.

Tommy was mining a staircase down using an iron pick he had bought in the village a day or so earlier with the determination of a mad man.

“Because we need to find lava and the easiest way to do that is mine down,” Tommy continued with his mining not paying attention to the vague answer he had given.

God what Tommy wouldn’t give to see Dream being bested by him.

This Dream was nowhere near as intimidating as the one in his world so Tommy found himself able to stand up for himself.

Especially since he had a seething hatred for the man.

Tommy’s plan would probably give Dream a huge headache and that’s all Tommy could wish for.

For Dream to admit defeat by his hands.

The thought alone gave Tommy enough determination to keep going even as he felt fatigue take over his entire body.

It only took a few more minutes for Tommy to find what he had needed, a lava pool.

“Pass over the water bucket,” Ranboo handed Tommy what he needed and Tommy poured the water all over the lava.

This of course created obsidian and Ranboo finally begun to understand what was happening.

“This is such a dick move, It’s perfect,” Ranboo probably wouldn’t usually recommend undermining people who you wanted to work with but this time it was fine.

Plus Ranboo was a little hurt from his rejection and this was probably the only form of revenge that would be even mildly satisfying.

And of course Tommy wasn’t hesitant at all as he gathered up the pieces he had needed.

\---

Dream had rejected another group of people trying to join them.

This was the sixth group he had done it to and Wilbur was starting to wonder if the man got some sort of kick out of it.

Wilbur wasn’t complaining honestly if people weren’t useful they didn’t need to be here.

He didn’t want anyone to die along the way.

Especially kids, Dream had described the two he had turned away as the same age as Tubbo.

Wilbur knew that it would probably hurt in the short term but it was better to be rejected then dead.

Dream sat across from Wilbur looking through some of the papers on the desk before someone came barging through the door.

It was already dusk so most if not everyone was over eating dinner or in their cabins so it was unusual for anyone to come in.

It was Tubbo who looked like he had just run across the camp to get them.

“Um, Schlatt needs you two out by the gate like right now,” Dream and Wilbur looked at each other before bolting out the door following Tubbo towards Schlatt.

Schlatt usually wasn’t one to call for help from others, liking to handle things on his own so if he had called them something had happened.

Wilbur could think of a million things that could’ve gone wrong as he ran over panic already settling in.

But even with all of that imagination he couldn’t have predicted this and from Dreams face the other hadn’t either.

Schlatt stood just outside the main gates arguing with a black haired boy who was just ignoring him obviously waiting for someone else to come out.

What was even more surprising was the obsidian behind the boy which had a perfectly working portal on the inside swirling around with magic.

Wilbur didn’t have any words as he walked over honestly baffled by this situation.

\---

Oh god was Tommy enjoying this.

Tommy’s plan had worked effortlessly and now he was there sitting in front of his nether portal listening to Schlatt trying to bargain with him.

Ranboo sat off to the side with Frederic giggling to himself when he saw Wilbur and Dream come out.

Tommy had noticed the two come running out with someone coming in close behind them but focused on Schlatt instead.

Tommy knew that after his adrenaline high he’d probably have a breakdown especially since his formerly dead brother was now here staring at him in shock.

God Tommy could’ve sworn he saw the shocked expression on Dream’s face even through the white mask he was wearing.

Tommy leant against the portal losing interest in his conversation with Schlatt as soon as the other two had come out.

Dream walked over and Tommy wouldn’t help but smirk “Well hey there, been a while,” Dream seemed to scowl at that comment.

Tommy just kept his smug shit eating grin on his face as the man hovered his hand over his sword.

Wilbur patted his hand on Dreams shoulder and he stood down with a huff before standing back to where Tubbo was.

“I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure, I’m Wilbur,” Wilbur offered out his hand but Tommy couldn’t care less “Yeah I already know that,” Tommy scoffed _had his brother always been such a pretentious asshole? Probably._

“So what are you doing here..,” Wilbur trailed off realising he didn’t know the mans name “Theseus,” Tommy interjected and Wilbur smiled again trying to keep up a friendly appearance.

“Right Theseus, What are you doing here,” Tommy grinned “Well I was planning on joining up with you guys with my friend over there,” Ranboo waved as Tommy nodded to him.

“But Mr Greenbean over there decided we ‘weren’t useful’,” Dream seemed to scowl as Tommy referred to him “So I decided ‘what the heck’ and made my own portal, maybe I’ll even get to the end before you guys,”.

Everyone seemed to sour at that remark and it just made Tommy more confident as he continued his monologue.

Wilbur could tell that this Theseus kid was smart; he had managed to undermine Dream of all people and could probably follow through with what he had to say.

Wilbur wanted him to be on their side.

They had plenty of good fighters but this Theseus kid seemed like a thinker.

Even if he seemed to be a little shit Wilbur could deal with, it wasn’t everyday you come across someone who could open a nether portal.

Especially since they’d been searching for a month already with no luck, this kid was probably the only one who could open a portal for a good while.

“What do you want?” Wilbur could catch onto what Theseues was trying to say and didn’t have time for pleasantries “A smart one aye?” Tommy smirked as he listed off his ridiculous requests.

\---

Ranboo was watching the interaction from a distance not really bothered to go over since Tommy was already doing a good enough job.

He was kinda surprised when someone had come up to him, a brown haired boy with what looked like ram horns growing on his head.

“Hey, Are you with that guy over there?,” The brown haired boy approached Ranboo with a friendly wave “Yeah that’s To-Theseus, we travelled over here together,” The brown haired boy nodded.

“Well I’m Tubbo, and from the looks of how this is going we’re probably gonna be seeing each other more often,” Tubbo offered his hand and Ranboo took it “I’m Ranboo, It’s nice to meet you Tubbo,”.

Ranboo talked with Tubbo to pass some time as Tommy continued to torture Wilbur until he heard a shout from the older man.

Wilbur had admitted defeat and was probably going to end up strangling Tommy before Ranboo even got a chance to stop him.

“Hey Theseus! Stop teasing them!” Ranboo yelled over to Tommy getting tired of the amusing back and forth with Wilbur.

Tommy laughed to himself as he saw the look of confusion on Wilbur's face.

“Alright, Alright,” Tommy walked towards Wilbur and patted him on the shoulder “Don’t worry big man we were always gonna join you, just wanted to ruffle your feather a bit,”.

Tommy scraped his axe against the nether portal and the magic slowly disappeared “So wanna show me where your portal is at?” Ranboo walked over with Tubbo and the two called Tommy over.

Tommy could feel his heart freeze for a second as he saw his best friend but repressed those emotions for now, he had a job to do.

The two of them followed Tubbo inside of the settlement since he was the only one not ready to kill the both of them at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School's unfortunately back which means I'll be a bit slower updating (Probably every second or third day) <3.


	13. Chapter 13 - Open sesame

The settlement was a fair bit larger than Tommy was expecting especially given the fact that these people were so behind in everything.

There were more than a few buildings lining the walls and the larger buildings were used as the cafeteria and meeting rooms.

The whole thing created a massive barrier around this part of the mountain making it impossible for anyone to get in unless they used the front gate or climbed the walls.

The settlement was connected to the base of one of the mountains and its walls were probably built out around that area.

Ranboo seemed too excited to see the whole place to notice the eerie feeling that surrounded the base of the mountain.

It felt like something was out of place and that feeling didn’t go away until the three of them reached the portal.

It was a ruined portal that much was obvious from the cracks and accident marking surrounding the area but they seemed to have repaired it decently enough.

It still felt weird for Tommy he never really liked ruined portals or any sort of magically imbued object because they’d always give him a bad feeling.

Especially portals since it took a lot of magic to be able to keep one open and that magic was usually sucked out from the area around it.

That’s why portals were usually always made underground to keep the plants and animals from dying around it.

Tommy walked over to the portal in awe as he realised how big it was, even if they were in an underground part of the mountain the area was massive.

Tommy brought out his flint & steel and began to chip away at it waiting for one of the sparks to light.

It took a few tries but after a minute or two he managed to get a good enough hit andlit the whole thing on fire with purple flames.

This fire wasn’t hot at all and instead burned with magic until the fire disappeared and in its place lay a swirling portal which ripped into the nether dimension.

Tommy was satisfied with his work but curiosity was definitely going to kill him if he wasn’t allowed to go in.

“Are we allowed to go in?” Tommy looked over to Tubbo who he was trying his best to ignore for the most part “I dunno, I don’t see why not,” Tubbo was also pretty curious as to what lay behind the portal.

Ranboo seemed to sigh before grabbing out his sword knowing that the inside probably wasn’t the safest of places to be without a weapon.

Tommy didn’t wait for Ranboo and jumped right in feeling the familiar tingle of the nethers magic transport him over to the other side.

They spawned in a pretty generic biome with netherrack surrounding them and a cliff off to the left probably leading into a fiery pit of lava.

Tommy was always happy when they travelled over to the nether it was like a second home to him especially since he had travelled here a lot when he was younger and still under the care of his mother.

Tommy was only around seven when his mother had left him with Phil so he still had some great memories with her which made the Nether even more nostalgic for him.

Ranboo walked in behind Tommy more catios of the biome which looked like the literal manifestation of hell to him.

Not to mention from what Ranboo has heard the mobs in here were usually twice as deadly and some could even fly around to catch people off guard.

Tubbo came in beside Ranboo more curious about the land than the monster and he immediately began to stray away from the portal taking a look around.

“Stay close you two, neither of you have armour or weapons,” Ranboo called out to Tommy and Tubbo who were already a walk away from the portal both exploring the area.

Tommy huffed he was fine the nether mobs usually wouldn’t attack him unless he was with others so as long as he kept his distance from the two Tommy would be fine.

Ranboo had to physically pull the two back into the overworld after they both complained about wanting to stay for longer and explore.

God if Tubbo and Tommy were friends Ranboo would probably end up pulling his hair out the two seemed like they’d get along like a house on fire.

The three made their way back out of the cave to see pretty much the whole camp gathered outside of the entrance probably curious as to what had happened.

Especially since Dream was pouting in one of the corners while Wilbur was holding back the urge to drop kick Tommy into the sun.

Tubbo seemed flustered to see the whole camp gathered in front of them but was saved from having to speak when Shclatt came up in front of everyone to explain.

Schlatt talked like he had in Tommy’s universe minus the trying to kill him and Wilbur but it was still weird for Tommy to watch the man do a speech.

Tommy phased out for most of the speech and only realised it was finishing when the crowd in front of them began cheering, obviously hearing of the portal.

Ranboo greeted some of the people in the crowd and went off to talk with others while Tommy had to deal with everyone else.

It felt like he was on autopilot as he talked to all these people recognising a few faces in the crowd and just trying to keep his head down.

It took probably half an hour for the excitement to die down enough for Tommy to slip away not really having the energy to talk to all of these people for that long.

No one had even told Tommy where he was going to be staying so he took this opportunity to wander around the camp even if it was in the middle of the night.

The excitement had probably kept everyone up so late but Tommy certainly didn’t appreciate how dark it had gotten, he still needed to rest up.

Tommy wandered around for another hour or so after everyone had started to pack up before Ranboo had managed to find him again.

Tommy was sitting up on one of the trees in the area playing around with some sort of metal object before Ranboo ran over.

“To-Theseus! Where’d you go? Our cabin is over this way,” Apparently Ranboo was lucky enough to actually get told where the two were staying so Tommy jumped down to follow his peer.

The whole camp seemed to go quiet in a matter of seconds after it had struck midnight apart from the few who patrolled along the walls.

Tommy was extremely tired so as soon as he reached the cabin he had flopped onto one of the beds not even bothered to take off his jacket.

Ranboo looked over to Tommy warily before heading off into another room leaving the boy alone to sleep.

Lucky for Tommy Ranboo had shut the door because Tommy was definitely feeling the blowback from today's events.

It was probably because he was so focused on getting here that Tommy hadn’t realised what had just happened.

He had seen Wilbur, Schlatt, Tubbo and Dream all in the space of a few hours and he had even pissed two of them off by making the first portal.

**_They hate you. It’s all your fault._ **

**_You hurt them._ **

**_They won't trust you. You can’t trust them._ **

**_Wilbur hates you._ **

**_Tubbo hates you…_ **

**_Even Dream hates you._ **

Tommy could feel his breath hitch as his mind began to flare up again, they had all abandoned him not too long ago so it was so jarring to see them not even remember him.

**_They’re not your real friends._ **

**_We don’t trust them. Yeah!_ **

**_They’re not real._ **

_ Yeah, They’re not  _ my _ friends… _

_ It’ll be fine… _

Tommy could already feel himself begin to cry, something even worse than being hated had happened.

He was forgotten about.

No one cared about him here.

He had no friends, no family and no home…

Tommy bit back his sobs not wanting to wake up Ranboo who was in the other room long since gone to bed.

He was hyperventilating a bit and everything started to become blurring for Tommy.

He hadn’t even noticed he had fallen off the bed and was now on the floor clutching his knees like he was going to die.

God! Tommy wished he had more control over his emotions.

He’s never broken down like this...at least not since Wilbur had died…

That had hit Tommy hard.

Even thinking about it now made his mind swirl with negative thoughts.

_ Why didn’t you help him? _

_ You could’ve saved him. _

_ It’s all your fault. _

_ Your Fault. _

Tommy was spiralling and he knew it.

This was becoming a common occurrence and Tommy didn’t appreciate it one bit.

Especially since he had no one to help him with it here.

Frederic had helped the first time but the horse was locked up in the stables and probably couldn’t fit into the house.

Ranboo was fast asleep after finally achieving his goal...Tommy didn’t want to burden Ranboo with his problems.

So Tommy was the only one left.

He had to save himself from himself.

…

Tommy bit down onto his hand.

His teeth were sharper than they looked and with the force he had used it had pierced through the flesh.

Blood slowly trickled down his hand bringing Tommy back to reality.

Back into the room.

He was  _ ok _ .

Tommy was  _ safe. _

He grabbed the bandages out of his sachelle and covered up his hand sloppily eager to go off to bed once more.

The pain was in the back of Tommy’s mind as a constant tethering him to reality and not his thoughts.

Tommy would’ve liked to have known this would work earlier since he could’ve just stopped his last episodes with a small bite.

Tommy took off his jacket this time before jumping into the bed.

He closed his eyes warily, worried that his thought would come back as soon as he did.

But they didn’t.

And Tommy could finally feel himself drifting off to sleep not plagued with his own voice in his head.

Or at least what Tommy had assumed was his own voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School has got me absolutely wrecked so I'll probably continue this fic without drawings from now on, I may sprinkle one in but it'll be rare. <3


	14. Chapter 14 - A New Morning

Tommy woke up like normal.

The sun was just barely beginning to rise when Tommy began to regain his consciousness becoming aware of his surroundings.

Tommy was at the settlement now.

He was safe.

Tommy was used to getting up early; it had become a habit ever since exile especially since Dream would usually come by early in the morning to visit him.

Even if Tommy hated the man Tommy missed Dream.

He was the only one that had been there for him through it all.

And Tommy had betrayed him.

Tommy was surprised when Dream hadn’t just hit Tommy when he found out.

Physical punishment was something Tommy could get used to, physiological stuff was where his head got all fuzzy.

When Dream had seemed so disappointed in him it had broken Tommy’s heart making him believe he had deserved it.

But things were different here.

Tommy wasn’t scared of this Dream, this Dream paled in comparison to his.

Even if Tommy was slightly trembling when he had talked to the man Tommy had managed to fight back.

Something he would’ve been punished for in his world.

But Dream had also helped Tommy.

The first few months of exile were rough on Tommy and he had gone into the nether alone one night.

_ Tommy had to be careful not to be seen by mobs since he wasn’t wearing any armor, Dream had put it in the pit this morning. _

_ He found a particularly quiet cliff and walked towards it looking down into the lavaery abyss. _

_ The magma swirled around beneath Tommy who was now sitting on the very edge of the cliff staring down into the hot lava. _

_ Tommy just wanted everything to be quiet. _

_ He was sick of everything, how Ghostbur had treated it as a vacation, how Tubbo hadn’t even visited him. _

_ The fire below was just so tempting. _

_ There was no voice in Tommy’s head this time it was all his own thoughts. _

_ Tommy was ready to jump and he was about to. _

_ Tommy stood up filing himself towards the edge before he heard a voice behind him. _

_ “Tommy?” They sounded confused but when Tommy turned around he could understand why. _

_ It was Dream. _

_ Tommy wasn’t meant to even be here without Dream’s supervision. _

_ “What are you doing?” Dream sounded nervous, noticing the look in Tommy’s eyes as he looked over the edge. _

_ “Come here Tommy,” It sounded like Dream was ordering Tommy to move but Tommy just shook his head. _

_ Dream moved forward a step before Tommy held his hand up to stop the man, Dream understood the gesture and began to panic more. _

_ “Tommy please come over here,” Dream looked at Tommy through the mask and could see a sad smile form on his face. _

_ “Sorry, but I can’t do that Dream,” Tommy looked like he was on the verge of tears “You’ve taken everything from me, I won't let you take this,” Dream’s eyes widened, he didn’t expect Tommy to break like this. _

_ This wasn’t what Dream wanted. _

_ He wanted the boy under his control, not dead. _

_ “It doesn’t matter anyway, no one will mourn for me,” Tommy seemed so empty at that moment as resolve grew with each word. _

_ “Yes they will! Tubbo and Ranboo even I will, we care about you!” Dream found himself saying things he didn’t expect, he couldn’t let Tommy die not yet. _

_ “Oh fuck off! None of them care about me!” Tommy’s rage bubbled over with sadness as he shouted “I can’t even trust you! You just want to use me…,”. _

_ Tommy was right about that but Dream wouldn’t let the boy continue, he needed to do something now or Tommy would definitely jump. _

_ Tommy looked to Dream who seemed to have gone silent and had taken that as his time to go. _

_ But before Tommy had flung himself off the edge he heard a click from behind him. _

_ Tommy looked back to see Dream. _

_ Not the white porcelain mask but the real Dream, the one with emerald green eyes and freckles spotted over his face “Please Tommy, take my hand,” Dream reached out for the boy with his gloved hand, _

_ Tommy didn’t even think before grabbed Dream’s hand letting the man drag him away from the edge. _

_ Dream held Tommy in a tight hug as the boy realised what he had just done. _

_ He almost died. _

_ He was going to kill himself. _

_ An overwhelming sorrow filled Tommy and he clutched the back of Dream’s hoodie crying into the man's arms before he had fallen asleep. _

Tommy felt conflicted now.

He didn’t like thinking about exile for this exact reason, it would just make him more confused.

A part of Tommy still hated Dream wanting to kill him as soon as Tommy had seen him outside of the settlement.

But the other part wanted to run over to the man and explain everything just to seek out some form of comfort.

Dream was in Tommy’s mind both a friend and enemy.

Which meant Tommy’s resolve would crumble either way so he decided to just not speak with Dream.

No doubt he’d have to talk to the man eventually but for now Tommy was content with just coexisting with him.

\---

Ranboo had woken up an hour or so after Tommy who was currently pottering around the small cabin trying to occupy himself with something.

Ranboo wasn’t quite sure what Tommy was up to but he seemed a lot more fidgety than usually refusing to stay in one place for more than a second.

“ ‘Mourning,” Ranboo gave Tommy a tired greeting before making his way to the small table they had been given to sit down.

“Hey big man!,” Tommy was definitely more energetic before and his happiness just made Ranboo smile.

“We’ve gotta meet with that Wilbur guy and some of the others when we get ready, something about getting to know us,” Oh boy did Tommy seem to not like that.

“So they’re gonna ask buncha questions, how dandy,” Tommy slunk down onto one of the chairs trying to think a way out of it already.

“It’ll be fine but they’ll probably ask you about the portal,” Ranboo didn’t know why but Tommy had hidden the fact that he was hybrid, the boy probably didn’t want these new people to know either.

“That’s fine I’ve got a reasonable enough excuse for that,” Tommy didn’t seem too worried about the whole hybrid thing so Ranboo could only wonder why he was so nervous.

\---

Tommy had left the room after that wanting to get changed and get this crap over with as quickly as possible.

It made sense that they wanted to ask questions but that didn’t mean Tommy didn’t loathe the idea.

He would be in a room for god knows how long with people he used to know and he couldn’t give any indication of that fact.

Tommy had to pretend he didn’t know any of these people and that was definitely going to be hard, especially with his brothers.

Tommy’s brothers always had a way of knowing it was him even if he was in complete disguise or even invisible so he was a bit on edge.

The only comfort Tommy got was that all these people were behind Tommy in knowledge.

They didn’t even know what happened after they managed to defeat the ender dragon and Tommy would use that to his advantage.

Also from what Tommy had heard half of the head honchos hadn’t even fought in a war before and lacked experience fighting against actual people.

Of course all of them were strong compared to mobs which is probably why they were chosen to be leaders but fighting people was a completely different game.

Tommy had been in plenty of battles and had the upper hand against most of these people especially if they still had the habits they did in his world.

God that would make Tommy’s life so much easier if they all fought the same as they did before.

Tommy could easily manage to incapacitate at least half of them in a head on fight if that were the case.

This probably wasn’t the sort of things Tommy should be thinking while he was living under a roof provided by these people but Tommy needed to get home.

The plan was to kill them off one by one on the trip there until he was left with only a few to leave during their exploration of the fortress.

Tommy already knew where the fortress was because of the geographical similarities between this world and his but Tommy had heard of another fortress being found by Techno just before he had been exiled.

That fortress in his world had still yet to be activated to maybe he could use it as a portal back to his world.

Tommy didn’t really know how portals worked but if the ender dragon thing didn’t work out he could always try out his second idea.

Ranboo was already dressed and ready by the time Tommy had come out of his own room and the two set outside.

It was early morning but mostly everyone was awake and moving around probably doing tasks to help gather resources.

Honestly there wasn’t as many people as Tommy had expected here with only around thirty or so people who seemed like warriors and the other twenty who just seemed like normal people.

Tommy could tell just by a glance that some of these people wouldn’t be going on the trip to the end.

A lot of them seemed like they were just normal farmers and people who wanted to be a part of all this without actually fighting.

It was a smart idea since every army needed its support and Tommy was glad that these people had already realised that.

What Tommy did notice as well was that there was an unusual amount of hybrids here.

Usually you’d see one or two within a town but at least a quarter of the people had outwardly showing hybrid traits.

There were probably more of them that just didn’t show but Tommy didn’t really care enough to look.

Given that two of their leaders were also outwardly showing hybrids it made sense that other hybrids had come here looking for a place they’d be accepted in.

Tommy had learnt from a young age that it was better to never show your traits.

Even his brothers had only seen Tommy lose control once or twice and it was just second nature to hide himself.

Being human was always going to be better.

Tommy shelved the topic in his mind for another day as he followed Ranboo who had apparently gotten the grand tour last night when Tommy had run off.

Ranboo led Tommy towards one of the bigger looking buildings that looked like a meeting hall and the two entered, seeing just one person standing inside.

The person seemed to be a guard of some sort standing in front of one of the back doors and waved Tommy and Ranboo over.

The guy had scruffy brown hair and a bandana holding it all in place “Good luck in there you two,” The man opened the door for the two.

Tommy nervously entered hoping that the gods would have mercy on him just this one time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm dying with work and school but I refuse not to write because I enjoy doing so <3


	15. Chapter 15 - A Meeting

Wilbur sat in the meeting room with a few of his peers as he waited for Thesues and Ranboo to arrive.

The two boys were definitely an enigma to Wilbur.

If he was in their shoes yesterday he probably would’ve just left after Dream had told them off the man was definitely intimidating.

Lucky for everyone the two didn’t leave otherwise Wilbur would be here pulling out his hair learning that they’d turned away someone who could’ve opened the portal.

It was a good thing Theseus was a spiteful little brat otherwise Wilbur wouldn’t have even batted an eye at the kid.

Wilbur’s general rule in this endeavour was that he wasn’t going to bring along kids especially since there was a high likelihood someone could die if they weren’t trained well enough.

Usually younger people didn’t take death as seriously especially given the three lives system the world had but they could cost them.

Tommy, Wilbur’s youngest brother, had already lost two of his lives at a young age so when he went out into the woods one night it was inevitable.

Wilbut still beat himself up about that and it was probably the reason he didn’t let kids join up with them.

Some of the other members had no such problem especially since one of the council members was literally seventeen.

Tubbo was a smart kid but Wilbur had never liked the fact that they’d put the boy in a leadership position.

Even if he was Shclatt’s son it still made Wilbur uneasy and at the start of all this he wasn’t afraid to voice those opinions.

After a while Wilbur had realised the usefulness of the boy and let him stay on the council despite his inner turmoil.

They were still waiting on a few people besides their guests but Dream and Techno were usually late to these sorts of things preferring to just be out on the field.

Eret was currently busy with the portal and George was helping them out so it wasn’t even going to be a full council.

Which was probably better since Wilbur would prefer being in charge of the conversation instead of one of his peers taking the lead.

Everyone was nice, don't get him wrong but some of them could be a tad intrusive and annoying at times and sometimes that didn’t go too well with new people.

Quackity was probably the biggest offender when it came to that and Wilbur was surprised someone hadn’t socked him in the jaw yet.

The casual chat between the four members who were actually present slowly became stale and Wilbur could only pray that he could get this over with.

Almost as if on cue Sapnap opened up the door to reveal their two guests and Wilbur was saved.

\---

Tommy didn’t know what he was expecting but this certainly wasn’t it.

There were four people sitting on a large meeting table all holding their own conversations amongst themselves.

Wilbur looked like he was just about to die of boredom and Quackity was being overtly loud before the pair had walked in.

“Come take a seat,” Wilbur gestured to the few seats in front of the four and the pair sat down with Ranboo awkwardly fidgeting at all the states he was getting.

“Ranboo, Theseus this is Quackity, Tubbo and Jschlatt,” Wilbur ignored the absolutely bored look Tommy gave him “We’re all members of the settlements council, We usually make all the big decisions here,”.

Wilbur went on about the general rules of the settlement and explaining that the council members were mostly made up of the original group who started the whole thing.

Tommy cared little to none about what Wilbur had to say knowing it was all just pleasantries before they started asking questions.

“Anyway, everyone here usually has a general job but since we don’t know what you two can do we’ll put that on hold for the moment,” Jobs, that sounded as boring as it was and Tommy was beginning to regret his decision not to just speed run this.

“We’ll have one of our other members test you two later,” Wilbur casually mentioned and Schlatt grew a smirk on his face “You mean you're just gonna get Technoblade to beat the shit out of the newbies?”.

Wilbur scoffed at that statement but everyone knew it was true, Techno had been their tester since the beginning and after a beating from him the new members would become a lot more loyal mostly not wanting to piss off Techno.

Fear was the greatest motivator as some say and Techno definitely used that to his advantage here.

There were more pressing matters to discuss so Wilbur continued “Disregarding what Schlatt is saying, we’re mighty curious as to how you opened the portal,” Wilbur began to pry.

“To our knowledge only Nether hybrids could open a portal and no offense but you generally lack any hybrid nature,” Tommy was confused by this, didn’t this world have concealing magic?

Tommy hadn’t really looked into it much but that would actually make more sense than anything else, there were so many outgoing hybrids not because they felt safer but they couldn’t hide it.

Of course there were hybrids with less obvious traits but with Tommy’s magic he could completely conceal himself unlike anyone else.

“Yeah funny thing that,” Tommy leant back in his chair now with the confidence that they couldn’t prove him to be a hybrid “I was born over in the Nether even if I’m human it somehow counted,”.

“So yeah I can open the portals but that’s about it,” Wilbur eyed Tommy suspiciously but they didn’t know enough to rebuke his answer “I think it’s even rarer to find a human born in the Nether funny that we found you before a hybrid,” Quackity mentioned obviously not buying Tommy’s story.

It was fine, they had no way to prove that Tommy was lying and he wasn’t planning on telling them anytime soon.

It probably wasn’t even a big deal for them if he was a hybrid but Tommy had never risked it knowing the underlying hate that hybrids got even in places like this.

Before anyone in the room could continue the topic further the door opened up catching everyone’s attention.

Tommy’s breath caught as he recognised who was walking in currently covered in blood “Ew,” Tubbo muttered under his breath as Wilbur just let out a long sigh.

“Couldn’t you clean up before walking blood through the building?” Wilbur asked and Techno let out a huff in response “I wanted to meet the new members,” was all the explanation Techno gave before sitting down in one of the chairs.

This Techno seemed generally less intimidating than the one in Tommy’s universe wearing a set of enchanted diamond armour instead of netherite with a diamond sword and cross bow slung across his back.

Even ill equipped Techno was still a mad man and Tommy knew to stay the hell away from him, especially after the festival when Techno became an official outlaw.

“This is Technoblade, he’s the one who’ll test you two,” Wilbur explained and the group continued with the meeting.

Tommy mostly zoned out for the rest of it, not really interested in whatever Wilbur had to say and relied on Ranboo to talk enough for the both of them.

Unlike Tommy who chose to avoid all interaction with people Ranboo was a more friend based person so whenever Ranboo managed to make a friend he would be more than willing to talk with them for hours on end.

Which is what had happened the night before when Tommy had snuck off and apparently Ranboo had already managed to become friends with Tubbo who was the only other person around their age.

The whole meeting made Tommy want to bang his head against the wall until he couldn’t hear any of them anymore and after a brutal hour or so in there the meeting was finally wrapping up.

Ranboo waved everyone goodbye as the council members started to leave one by one with only Wilbur and Techno left over “Well if Techno has the time we can get those tests over with now,”.

Techno let out a sigh but stood up “I’ve got stuff to do so don’t blame me for making it quick,” was all the acknowledgement Techno gave Wilbur before leading the two recruits out into the fields.

Wilbur followed closely behind, curious as to what these two could do, especially Ranboo who would definitely have some weird hybrid stuff he could do just like every other hybrid.

They left through the front gates and went around the walls to a small training field usually used for sparing or to fight against mobs.

Techno lazily walked over and started fiddling with his armour taking it off and putting it one the armour stand.

“Do you two have weapons?” Techno looked back to them while getting out his own sword, Ranboo and Tommy just nodded as they summoned their respective weapons.

Ranboo’s weapon was significantly better in general standards being made of diamond but it was a rapier so it probably had to be made out of a stronger material or it would break easily.

Tommy had his generic iron axe which didn’t have any fancy enchantments on it and Techno only eyed him curiosity.

“Your aim is to disarm me,” Techno rambled as he got into stance “If I do the same to you I win,” It was a fairly bland way of testing but it got the job done well enough.

Techno would probably duel them properly after this anyway for now he wanted to know how fast their reaction time was and if they had any real training with their respective weapons.

The pair weren’t given any warning as Techno lunged forward fighting Ranboo who quickly teleported to the side dodging Techno’s attack, Ranboo seemed flustered as he usually only did that when he was scared but he got into an attacking stance.

Tommy was mostly standing by to watch what Techno was doing as the older dueled with Ranboo coming close to disarming him a few times.

“Some help would be nice!” Ranboo yelled as he saw Tommy off to the side just watching as Ranboo was struggling.

This was Ranboo’s downfall as the seconds he took to yell over at Tommy was enough time for Techno to get a good hit in grabbing Ranboo’s rapier by the handle and yanking it out of his grip.

Ranboo sighed and put his hands up in defeat while he side eyed Tommy who had nothing to prevent this.

Techno gave Ranboo’s weapon back and turned his attention to Tommy, his new opponent, Ranboo dejectedly walked to the sidelines next to Wilbur hoping that Tommy could at least avenge him.   
  


Tommy noticed a few things while he was watching the fight but what stuck out the most was how sloppy this Techno was when it came to fighting other people.

In Tommy’s universe Techno could’ve taken Ranboo out within ten second with his eyes closed but this Techno had taken well over a minute to disarm the enderman hybrid.

Tommy probably would have beaten Ranboo faster than Techno had which was an interesting thing to find out.

Techno was no doubt terrifying to Tommy but for some reason this Techno just didn’t give off the same effect, this Techno hadn’t seen as much bloodshed and war as before.

That was probably a good thing but with war comes experience, experience that no one here seemed to have,  _ Had there really been no wars in this universe? _

Tommy didn’t get anymore time to think about it as Techno set his sights on him lunging forwards in a bold motion to catch Tommy off guard.

Of course this wasn’t the smartest move especially if you didn’t know your opponent but Techno seemed confident that his skills outweigh the risks.

Tommy did look fairly weak from an outsiders standpoint especially with his smaller frame and slight malnutrition but that was no reason to underestimate him.

What Tommy lacked in strength he made up for in speed and experience so disarming Techno like this would be a breeze.

Instead Tommy ducked down getting lower on Techno before grabbing Techno’s wrist and using the momentum to slam the older into the ground.

Techno seemed surprised by this action and quickly rolled back up with a curious look in his eyes “You could’ve disarmed me,” Tommy grinned “Yeah, I could’ve,”.

It would be no fun if Tommy ended things here so he continued the duel, gaining the attention of the guards who were patrolling the wall taking a break so they could see the match.

Ranboo wasn’t too surprised that Tommy was able to hold his own given Tommy’s previous display of strength but even Ranboo had difficulty against Techno alone.

Tommy didn’t let it drag on too long wanting to spare at least some of the olders pride so after a few fake outs he finally wedged the crook of his axe into Techno’s blade pulling it out of the olders hand.

It had been a while since Tommy had such an energy draining match with a single person so he was panting slightly after it was done offering a hand to the blade who was on the floor.

Techno took Tommy’s hand with a smile “I think you could be plenty useful newbie, what’s your name?” Techno dusted himself off while the two official spectators came over.

“It’s Theseus,” Wow it was weird telling Techno the name that Tommy had stolen from his brother “Well Theseus, I look forward to working with you,” The two shook hands and on the way back inside talked about jobs for Ranboo and Tommy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo more chapters, if y'all wanna see another AU fic, I'm working on another one called 'Hidden In The Nether' so go check it out <3


	16. Chapter 16 - Picking Jobs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi yes I'm not dead mostly

Techno didn’t know what he had expected from the two new recruits but it certainly wasn’t this.

The testing match was quite a simple format and without fail Techno had been able to gauge the abilities of every person in the settlement.

But the Theseus came along.

Techno went after Ranboo first in the match expecting the boy to be more of a fight than Theseus especially since he looked like some kind of enderman hybrid.

Enderman hybrids were a pain to fight if trained well enough especially with that pesky teleportation ability but it seemed that Ranboo was still a bit green when it came to fighting other people.

The boy was probably fantastic against mobs but fighting against a real person was different.

Techno couldn’t really blame the kid, There had been no big wars since Techno had been a part of the Antarctic Empire and the kid was probably way too young to fight back then.

Taking Ranboo out had been easier than Techno had thought however since Theseus decided to observe the fight instead of helping his friend.

This was probably Techno’s first clue that Theseus knew what he was doing but he had ignored it assuming it was nerves or something.

And who could blame him? The kid was so skinny his bones would probably break if the wind was too strong but Techno shouldn’t have underestimated him.

Even if Techno had the physical advantage against Theseus didn’t mean he would lose Theseus was a smart kid and watched the duel between Techno and Ranboo with a critical eye.

After Techno had taken out Ranboo he looked over to Theseus who realised what had happened and got into a more balanced fighting stance.

Techno could probably just tackle Theseus to the ground before the boy could notice so in a fluid motion Techno lunged towards Theseus.

The grin on Theseus’s face wasn’t visible for anyone but Techno as the boy easily avoided his attack grabbing Techno’s wrist and smashing the man into the ground.

Theseus could have finished the duel right then and there.

But he didn’t.

Techno could feel a grin form on his own face as they continued to fight taking up around five minutes before Theseus seemed to get bored and decided to disarm Techno.

Despite his age Theseus was smart.

Techno could tell that this wasn’t just achieved from practice, no, this kid had experience.

It was a terrifying thought that someone so young had already taken part in a war or two but Techno couldn’t judge, he and Phil had started the Antarctic Empire when Techno was only fifteen.

Ranboo didn’t seem too surprised when Theseus had won, which piqued Techno’s curiosity; it meant Theseus had shown his fighting skills against people before.

In front of Ranboo no less, maybe Techno would ask the kid about it later but for now he needed to assess the two.

Techno would definitely be taking Theseus into his division who were in charge of hunting and soon would be in charge of fighting in the Nether.

Ranboo seemed to also have some good potential so Techno would probably also make the kid one of the guards.

Wilbur certainly wouldn’t be happy with Techno when he decided to take the two boys into the most dangerous job but it would just be a waste if they went anywhere else.

Despite the nobleness behind Wilbur’s decision to refuse any children, Techno didn’t see the point in wasting such potential, especially Theseus.

The kid was obviously the younger of the two but already had enough experience to toy with Techno during a battle and still easily win.

The walk back to Wilbur’s office was filled with friendly banter between Ranboo and Wilbur who seemed to be the only ones who actually wanted to talk.

Theseus seemed to be on the quieter side like Techno which was just another reason to claim the kid, Techno wouldn't have to make awkward small talk which was always a bonus.

Wilbur’s office was in the main hall down a large hallway filled with doors all with their own nameplate on them.

Every council member was given an office but Wilbur and Eret were usually the only ones to be found inside doing paperwork with everyone else opting to go and be physically involved with everything.

Some of the members had even decided to share an office since it was just easier so Wilbur and Eret were the only ones to have an office all to themselves due to the sheer amount of stuff they had to keep track of.

Eret would probably still be busy with all the portal stuff for a little while longer so the four were the only people in the building at the moment as they entered Wilbur’s office.

Sapnap was usually in the building since it was his rotation to protect the offices so Wilbur greeted the man before they all went to sit down.

“Okay, since Techno has finished his test I think we should assign you two to a group,” Wilbur explained “We have two main groups: the Farmers and Guards to simplify it to the basics and I think you’ll both probably be with the Guards,”.

Techno nodded, he definitely wanted the two to become a hunter since Techno could easily just take them out to do his own thing if they were.

“Ranboo from what I’ve seen I’ll probably put you with the explorers so I’ll have Sapnap take you over there to get started,” Wilbur called Sapnap into the room and after a few words Ranboo left going off to his new job.

\---

Tommy gave Ranboo a smile as the boy left but he was dying on the inside.

Unbenounced to Ranboo he had just left Tommy alone in a room with his two brothers who he was deathly afraid of.

Tommy knew the two couldn’t lay a finger on him but just the thought of them finding out who Tommy was sent shivers down his spine.

He was going to be fine.

This is fine.

Wilbur waited for Sapnap and Ranboo to shut the doors behind them before he continued to talk, not noticing Tommy’s obvious discomfort now.

“How old are you Theseus?” Wilbur started off with confusing Tommy,  _ why did it matter?  _ “A whole none of your business,” Yeah, Ranboo was probably half of Tommy’s impulse control so with the boy gone Tommy spoke his mind.

“I’m gonna guess your fifteen maybe sixteen yeah?” Wow rude just because Tommy was small didn’t mean he was young, Tommy was turning seventeen in only one or two months.

“A hell of a lot of wrong but continue,” Tommy wanted to hear this out before he shut Wilbur down “Well we don’t usually allow kids here even Ranboo is a bit of a stretch,” Oh god were they gonna kick him out?

Tommy had served his purpose so maybe they had no need for them.

That made sense in a sick sort of way.

“I know Techno probably wants you to go off and be a Hunter but I think you should be a guard,” Techno looked annoyed at this, was Will really going to waste such a good soldier.

“In the end it doesn’t really matter what I think, but know that I don’t approve of you being here even if you are useful to us,” Wilbur nodded to Techno who sighed in relief.

“Cool man, I don’t really care,” Tommy interjected,  _ Had Wilbur really just kept him in there for something so petty _ , Techno seemed amused by how unphased Tommy was and Wilbur gave them permission to leave.

“You should probably be more careful with your words, Wilbur’s technically outranks you here,” Techno warned as he led Tommy outside of the building “Yeah, I don’t really care I could snap him like a stick,”.

Wilbur had always been the physically weakest out of all the boys but his brains were no joke but Tommy found himself caring less and less.

“That’s not really an achievement, the man’s physically weaker than most but you should still be careful,” Techno left the topic at that and the two continued to walk in silence content with not talking for a while.

Techno’s group was one of the smallest, only having three other people apart of it since it was a fairly simple job, all they had to do is go out hunting every few days and keep monsters from getting too close to the settlement.

One of the members were apparently busy helping with some portal stuff so there was only two people for Tommy to meet once they exited out the main gate.

Techno had chosen to keep their general meeting area outside of the settlement's walls since that’s where the group spent most of their time so it took a bit longer to get to them than Tommy had first expected.

The two other members were already at the meeting place settled down waiting for Techno to come by and give them their orders for the day.

“‘Morning,” Techno strolled up to the two and they both stood up immediately greeting Techno as he came by then giving glances over to Tommy.

“Theseus this is Puffy and Sam, Puffy and Sam this is Theseus he’ll be joining our group from today onwards,” Techno wasn’t really bothered to fully explain but the other two seemed to be excited by the new member.

“Oh wow! You’re one of the kids to open the portal right?” Puffy went over to Theseus with a big smile reminding Tommy of the woman in his world who he had limited interactions with “Uh, yeah,”.

Tommy scratched the back of his head awkwardly not really knowing how to interact with any of these people “That’s awesome, You’ll fit right in here,” Puffy encouraged noticing Theseus’s awkward stance.

“How was your match against Techno Theseus,” Sam walked over next changing the topic to something a little less awkward “Everyone usually fights him before they get assigned so don’t worry about it too much,” Sam immediately assumed that Theseus had lost given Techno’s track record.

“I don’t think I’ll be worrying at all, Isn’t that right Mr Technoblade~,” Tommy was now back to being a little bitch trying to gain some sense of normality from this “Just wait for next time kid,” Techno seemed unphased by Theseus’s taunting and he frowned.

“Well he’s just no fun,” Tommy pouted to Puffy’s amusement “Takes a lotta balls to talk against Techno like that ‘spiecally for a kid,” Puffy contered and Tommy just brushed it off “Maybe if he was good i’d be more intimidated,”.

Sam quirked an eyebrow at that comment Techno’s skills were no joke and for someone who had presumably just been defeated Theseus was oddly confident.

“Techno who won?” Sam looked over his shoulder to Techno who had already sat down “Kid got me good after a few minutes, it was pretty fun though,” Techno talked so casually about it that it almost went over the pair’s heads.

“Wait! What!?,” Puffy was the first to let out her surprise as she looked between Theseus and Techno who seemed to have both lost interest in the conversation.

“That’s insane kid, Even I couldn’t beat Techno in my first match,” Puffy was genuinely impressed it was no wonder why Techno had taken Theseus into their team.

“Not a kid,” Tommy corrected before sitting down near Techno waiting for instructions since he would rather be doing anything else than having to interact with these people.

“Anyway, Today we’re probably just going to be doing some general trapping around the forest and maybe hunting a few mobs,” Techno explained as Sam and Puffy went to sit down with the two.

“Puffy you can go with Theseus and teach him the basics while me and Sam go check up on the whole Nether stuff,” Puffy nodded and without another word Tommy was walking through the forest with the woman listening to her explain stuff he already knew.

Techno had gone off towards the settlement to Tommy’s relief he really didn’t know how to interact with his brother so Techno leaving him with Puffy made thing a lot easier.

Puffy was a nice person from what Tommy knew of her being apart of the Badlands but he’d only met her a few times meaning he didn’t really know her here.

After traveling around checking any old traps for a catch Puffy decided to go a little further into the forest to set up some new traps and hopefully teach Theseus how to do so as well.

“Okay so Techno has a really complicated way of setting traps so I’ll probably have to show you a few times before you can do it,” Puffy grabbed the materials needed out of her satchel and began to construct the trap by the side of a river.

Puffy half expected Theseus to be hovering over her shoulder the whole time but instead his eyes were more focused on the distant water and the rocks laying across the riverbank.

The kid definitely had good eyes because that river was where most of the Hunters left their spare weapons in case they ever got too far into the forest whilst forgetting something.

“---You wanna try it?” Tommy had most certainly blanked out for half of the conversation and only looked back when Puffy was done with her own trap asking if he wanted to try.

It hadn’t been too long ago that Tommy was setting up traps in his exile so he would have no problem with Techno’s strange way of trapping but it was weird to actually have high quality materials this time.

Most of Tommy’s previous traps had failed because he just couldn’t get the materials needed and used flimsy substitutes but the metal wire handed to him was certainly not flimsy.

Tommy didn’t need to wait for Puffy to walk him through it and just began setting the trap already familiar with the process since it had been engraved in him since a young age.

Puffy was certainly surprised that Theseus knew how to do this especially since he had barely paid her any attention when she was walking him through it.

Maybe the kid used the same method as Techno when trapping but it was such an off brand method that Puffy could only wonder where Theseus had learnt it from.

“Okay, well I was planning most of the day teaching you to trap but that’s obviously pointless,” Puffy inspected Theseus’s trap and realised it was perfect so they didn’t really need to dwell on trapping for too long.

“We can probably just go hunt some mobs now, this area hasn’t been cleaned out in a while,” Puffy pulled out a golden sword from her inventory and placed it into her dominant hand.

Tommy in turn pulled out his iron axe which earned him a stare from Puffy who was honestly expecting something like a diamond weapon given that Theseus had beaten Techno in a duel.

Tommy noticed Puffy’s stares and brushed it off “I broke my previous axe a few weeks back,” A simple explanation was better than nothing and Puffy nodded, breaking weapons was a common thing after all.

The two pondered through the forest searching for mobs as Puffy tried to start up a conversation “So Theseus, why’d you join the settlement?” It was a casual question everyone had their reasons and it was usually a good conversation starter.

“I thought it’d be easier than doing it myself,” Which was obviously wrong since Tommy could now see how behind everyone in this place was “Yeah no joke, I doubt even Techno could do it alone,”.

Tommy knew that Techno in his world could easily defeat the enderdragon but Puffy was right in saying no one over here could do it alone, they were all way too inexperienced.

It still surprises Tommy that Dream and his friends had defeated the dragon back in his world but once Dream got his abilities no one really questioned him just accepting what happened.

“Why’d you join Puffy?” Tommy asked curious as to what would drive people to do this especially since they were so underprepared “I just wanted some adventure! I know it sounds like a pretty bland reason but I’ve always wanted to go on an epic quest like this,”.

Tommy nodded that seemed to be a common motivator for people in this world “It’s understandable, everyone wants to be a part of something big,” just like when Tommy and his brother had created a nation.

_ They just wanted to be a part of something. _

Tommy’s thoughts were cut short as Puffy hushed him, noticing a considerably large group of zombies with one or two skeletons within the pack.

Puffy didn’t know what Theseus was capable of but given that he had defeated Techno she trusted his abilities enough to let him take charge while she snuck around to the back and flanked them.

The fight was short lived only lasting a minute or two one Puffy had given the signal to attack, Theseus charged in from the front at the same time as Puffy from the back and they made quick work of the mobs.

Puffy didn’t know what she was expecting but she had only managed to get two or three mobs before Theseus had taken them all out.

Puffy didn’t even feel like she helped as Theseus took on over twenty mobs and defeated them all in a split second weaving through the horde with expertise.

He was definitely as strong as Techno and she could see the same stance Techno had within Theseus who moved like he was an expert at this.

Honestly it was a bit brutal towards the mobs who had barely any time to react before they got their head smashed in by an axe but Puffy didn’t pity them.

Although Theseus seemed strong it didn’t stop Puffy from noticing the boy falter every so often as he went in for the final blow or when he was slightly off balance as Theseus tried to gain his breath.

The kid obviously had a lack in stamina that everyone else had which was plainly obvious after he fought through the mobs.

Puffy was honestly surprised Theseus hadn’t fainted halfway through the fight seeing how under fed the kid was it was no wonder he didn’t have enough energy.

After today Puffy would definitely tell Techno to keep an eye out even if Theseus was an extremely good soldier Puffy could see the kid was struggling.

The fight ended swiftly and the two began to pick up all the loot gained from killing the mobs slowly making their way through the hordes belongings.

“We can probably stop here for today, I heard you missed the tour last night so I’ll give you one when we get back,” Puffy could tell it was midday way too early to be stopping but she’d be damned if the new kid died on the first day.

“Sure,” Theseus seemed to get quieter after he fought probably trying to save energy but it still made Puffy uneasy.

The two made their way back towards the camp bags filled with random items gathered along the way, Tommy could see himself settling in here soon enough if this was all they had to offer.

Maybe he deserved a break from the chaos of his old world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sticking around! I've been dying with school so I haven't had a chance to really write so I'll probably be slow with updates, I've got another story up if y'all want more content so go check out my profile for that <3


	17. Chapter 17 - Half Assed Tour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is 120 pages in google docs......how (◎_◎)

The settlement was way more sophisticated than Tommy had first thought.

On the outside it just looks like one big blockade surrounding the mountain's base but it was way larger than its outer walls.

The whole settlement was based in a basin which was completely surrounded by mountains with only one or two ways out if you didn’t want to climb.

That meant that the whole basin could be used as a base which is exactly what was happening despite having a main base the settlement actually took up the whole basin.

Mostly farm lands and mines were found outside the walls with the occasional house but the entire area was owned by the settlement.

Which meant half of the place was lit up with lanterns and had cobblestones pathways making it look more welcoming to outsiders.

Tommy was kinda pissed that the path Ranboo and he had taken was one of the mentioned mountain paths which meant they had to actually climb through the mountain instead of going along a nice little path.

Neither of them even knew the paths existed since no one had given them that information so it was surprising that they hadn’t accidentally stumbled upon it the day before.

Puffy led Theseus down one of the many paths that connected to the forest they were just in and led him towards their storage facility.

The storage facility was the second most protected area of the settlement apart from the now open portal so as expected there were a few guards outside waiting for the pair's arrival.

Most of the guards wore a uniform to make sure people could recognise them but one of the men was wearing a purple hoodie instead probably recognisable enough not to wear the uniform.

Puffy seemed to recognise the boy and gave him a wave before leading Theseus over so that they could both empty their bags into one of the chests.

“Heya Purpled,” Great another person to add to the I used to know you list, honestly Tommy didn’t even know Purpled very well only knowing the guy was around his age and meeting a few times on off occasions.

Tommy gave the guy a nod before following Puffy inside obviously the guards trusted her enough to not question why Tommy was there.

Everyone probably knew his face given the whole fiasco yesterday but it still felt weird for all of them to accept him just like that.

It had been so much harder before.

Puffy snapped Tommy out of his funk when she started to explain their storing system pointing towards different chests showing which areas would have certain types of items.

The chests were controlled by the council so unless it was an emergency you’d have to ask before taking anything which Tommy planned to never do.

Tommy didn’t need to take resources from these people to succeed he’d make his own weapons and potions.

TommyInnit doesn’t rely on others.

After the short visit to the storage facility Puffy offered to show Tommy around the farms which he had apparently completely missed before now as well.

It made sense that they had their own farms on site instead of relying on the outside world but it would take a lot of manpower to maintain such a set up.

Out of the fifty or so people at the settlement (Not including the council) about thirty five of them were farmers probably here just to support the mission instead of actually taking part.

With that many people maintaining a few large fields of crop would be a simple task and feeding themselves would probably be even easier.

The whole settlement could probably survive off the food farmed out here but they still needed people to hunt like Puffy so that they weren’t stuck eating vegetable soup for the rest of their lives.

As the two passed by the fields Puffy greeted a few of the workers none of which Tommy recognised until a familiar looking figure came running over from the distance.

Tommy definitely hadn’t seen her in a while having to take a double take before realising it was actually her.

Nikki.

Nikki was one of the founding members of L’Manberg and Tommy probably should’ve expected her to be here given that a massive cast of the server had already shown up in one way or another.

Honestly Tommy didn’t know how to feel about Nikki, she hadn’t been around when he had been exiled having to go away for family issues and last he had heard she had come back and caused a big fuss about it.

But that was at least three months ago and apart from that Tommy hadn’t heard anything from the woman.

A lot of his  ~~friends~~ acquaintances seemed to blur in his memory, losing their faces and voices but Nikki was so prominent it was surprising. 

She was one of the only people who had been there for him since the beginning after all.

Puffy waved Nikki over and the two greeted each other with a smile “Nikki this is Theseus, he’s one of the new recruits,” Tommy gave his most nonchalant nod uncertain on how to act.

“Hey Theseus, I’m Nikki it’s nice to meet you,” Nikki beamed and Tommy felt himself relax a bit more letting the two talk to each other as he walked beside them.

“So where’d you come from Theseus?” Tommy had mostly zoned out of the conversation content on just listening until Nikki brought him back to reality “My country is a bit far from here, doubt you’d know about it,”.

Technically Tommy didn’t even have a home now even if he did go back to his universe so it wasn’t a complete lie.

“I might surprise you, I’ve sailed to some pretty strange places,” Puffy added smirking knowing Theseus would have to give up at least some details.

Tommy grimaced a bit even if he did have to lie where was a good place to lie about, L’manberg had kicked him out so Tommy definitely wasn’t going to say that and Logstedshire was now officially blown up.

The only place untouched right now was....

“It’s called Pogtopia, dumb I know, It’s a fairly small place,” Tommy said seeing that Puffy had no idea what he was talking about “Yeah I’ll bet even I haven’t heard of it,” Tommy was given a suspicious glance before they moved on.

Thankfully the two had picked up on Tommy’s not wanting to talk so they left him alone for the most part having their own little conversation that Tommy would drift in and out of.

It wasn’t like him to be so spacey but a lot of the weeks he had spent in this world were a blur of stress and hunger so he wasn’t really to blame when he honestly didn’t care.

Plus Nikki and Puffy were talking about such mundane things that Tommy had immediately lost any interest, usually no one had the time to talk that leisurely back home so it was strange to hear.

“---Yeah it’s my turn on the kitchen again, Fundy was meant to help me but he’s god knows where now,” Nikki sighed exhaustively as she thought of all the work dinner would be.

“If you need any help I’m sure Theseus would be fine with helping out,” Puffy basically just volunteered Theseus for kitchen duty and had no qualms “Oh really? That would be great,”.

Both girls laughed and Tommy wasn’t paying them any attention at all until Nikki began to leave grabbing Tommy’s hand “C’mon,” was all the explanation he got before he was dragged off.

Puffy giggled a bit watching Theseus’s confusion and just waved as the two made their way towards the kitchens, He was definitely going to have fun with that.

Tommy had to restrain a yelp as Nikki grabbed him right where his fresh wound lay under bandages “So, uh, Where are we going?” Tommy was confused and as soon as the two were walking a normal pace Nikki let go.

“Well I believe Puffy just volunteered you for kitchen duty so you’ll be helping me,” Nikki stated as if she wasn’t the one who had said yes “okay?” Tommy didn’t really have the energy to argue so he just went along with Nikki.

She seemed friendly enough here and a little distraction never hurt anyone so Tommy followed until they reached the main camp.

The guards one the walls opened the doors as soon as they saw the two approaching and Nikki walked through with confidence knowing the whole place like the back of her hand.

Speaking of hands this Theseus kid must’ve done something to his because when Nikki had grabbed it early there was no mistaking the pained expression he had made.

It was covered in bandages which was normal for people here trying to get more grip on their weapons without scraping their skin off but the kid was actually injured.

Nikki could only imagine the plethora of diseases one could get if they didn’t properly disinfect a wound but the kid looked like he knew what he was doing so Nikki didn’t question it.

Honestly it was weird that Wilbur had even let a kid join up with them since they only had another two people underage but Theseus’s group had lit the portal so it was understandable.

Nikki walked into the kitchens and was delighted to see that the ingredients had already been delivered with a little note attached from Fundy apologising for not helping out.

The ingredients were heavy and hard to carry so Nikki just ticked it off as Fundy’s contribution and she wouldn’t ask why he hadn’t come, this was helpful enough.

Tommy stood by Nikki’s side awkwardly, not quite sure what she wanted from him just yet “From the looks of it we should make some Beef stew,” Nikki went through the ingredients pulling out the ones she needed.

“We gotta feed fifty four people so we should do a vegetable for every three and a handful of meat as well,” Nikki counted out the food collecting a pile of carrots, mushrooms, potatoes and some beetroot.

Tommy watched on, not wanting to break her focus as she counted it out in her head trying to make sure they definitely had enough for everybody.

“Can you please cut the veggies while I get the meat started,” Nikki pulled out a cutting board and knife handing it over to Tommy “Sure thing boss,” Nikki giggled at that then went on to cooking the beef.

It was such a normal thing to do cutting vegetables, Tommy used to do this all the time back at the house with Phil and his brothers it was oddly calming.

Nikki worked like a magician in the kitchen and managed to get the whole thing up and going in a few minutes and the general sounds of the kitchen started to hum.

Nikki glanced over to Theseus who had been quietly cutting the vegetables for a few minutes now and smiled, the kid didn’t seem to mind such a menial task and was more than happy to just sit there and cut.

Theseus seemed like a good kid opening the portal and all but he seems nothing like Wilbur had described him the night before.

Wilbur described him as a confident and arrogant teenager but he has barely spoken a word sine Nikki had seen him.

She’d probably ask Wilbur about it later, people usually aren’t this quiet without a reason and from what Nikki had gathered Theseus was capable of being the snarky teenager Wilbir described.

He just chose not to or maybe he couldn’t.

Whatever, that’s a problem for the future right now Nikki needed to focus on feeding this lot since they are always so damn hungry.

Dinner was the one big meal always prepared by Nikki and her group and was the time everyone finally gathered together so it was important to be able to feed everyone.

Even if that meant Nikki would go out to the walls every night to give the guards on duty their meal Nikki didn’t mind it was the least she could do.

Nikki was one of the original members of the settlement when there was only a small group of them but she refused to be a part of the council.

The only reason Nikki joined was because of her friends, she wasn’t going to actually go to the end and it felt wrong to her if she was a part of the council.

And so Nikki did all she could with the power she did have mostly consisting of cooking for everyone and making sure they all had their meals.

Tommy finished up cutting almost in sync with Nikki walking over to him so he handed over the pile and Nikki dumped it all into several pots making sure there was an even number of vegetables in each pot. 

There were six pots in total and Tommy was almost amazed at the amount of food Nikki had to cook each night knowing he’d probably give up after the second week of this.

“All that’s left is to wait, I’ll go call everyone in so keep an eye on the pots,” Nikki left without another word and Tommy sat down on the bench swinging his feet while waiting for her to come back.

A loud bell rang out through the basin startling Tommy who was spacing out but when Nikki came skipping back into the room his heart slowed down a bit.

“I’ve rung the diner bell so they should all be over soon, You can help me serve,” Nikki handed a bowl over to Tommy who began to fill it with the stew.

Tommy would fill the bowls then hand them to Nikki who would give them to anyone who was outside of the kitchens serving window which lead to a large grassy area outside.

It took around half an hour for everyone to arrive since people were coming from all across the settlement and before long the area was filled with friendly laughter and chatter.

“Theseus I’m gonna go give these to the guards, serve yourself but leave the pots open some people prefer to serve themselves after everyone has already eaten,” Nikki held out a bowl for Tommy then left carrying a few bowls of her own.

Tommy followed her instructions giving himself a fairly small amount of stew and leaving the pots heated on the stove for the late comers.

Any normal person would probably go outside to eat with the rest of the people here but Tommy didn’t feel like human interaction right now.

Instead Tommy headed towards a certain place apple in hand that he had been given by Nikki when he was working.

Tommy didn’t have to walk for long before he reached his desired destination.

“Hey there buddy,” Tommy walked up to the stables to where Frederic was standing bringing his head down to meet Tommy’s gaze.

Frederic seemed entirely focused on Tommy’s wrapped up hand but if it was because Tommy was injured or the apple he held was anyone's guess.

“Here you go,” Tommy held the apple out and Frederic took a big crunch lifting it from Tommy’s hands as Frederic went to lay down.

Tommy jumped over the stables gate and into Frederics pen bowl in hand as he watched Frederic slowly make his way through the apple.

Frederic was a pretty chill horse so Tommy sat down leaning onto his friend as they both ate in silence.

Yes talking to people was probably normal for others but Tommy had spent so much time alone in exile that he was used to it now.

Being with others was unpredictable, being alone with your horse wasn’t and Tommy felt safer when it was just him nowadays.

**_You’ll always be alone._ **

**_It’ll never change._ **

**_Even here you can’t escape the past._ **

Tommy knew how to deal with this, he wasn’t going to spiral not now.

Frederic seemed to notice Tommy’s sudden shift in mood and nudged Tommy with his head, breaking the boy out of whatever weird trance he was in.

Tommy stared at his hand for a second too long then smiled softly “Yeah,Yeah alright,” Tommy grabbed Frederic’s face and swished it a little bit before letting go.

“Dumb horse,” Tommy mumbled before shoving another spoonful of soup down his throat fighting back the urge to spit it out immediately.

**_It’s too much._ **

**_You're not allowed this much food._ **

**_Dream will be angry._ **

Tommy leaned into Frederic more trying to distract himself with the horses steady breathing “It’s not that much…,” Tommy would feel guilty later but he poured out the rest of the bowl onto the ground.

Nikki probably wouldn’t be happy if she knew he had wasted the food she had worked so hard to make so Tommy wasn’t going to tell her.

He should’ve just taken a smaller amount.

Which was ridiculous since Tommy had only gotten a few mouthfuls in before he had emptied the bowl onto the ground ignoring the protests of his body that desperately needed the food.

Tommy’s mind and body just weren’t going to get along now would they?

Frederic finished his apple not soon after Tommy had chucked his food away lying his head down to fall asleep.

Tommy sat there patting the horse for a few minutes before getting back up, it probably wouldn’t be good if he fell asleep in the stables.

Tommy didn’t know all the rules of this place yet so it was better safe than sorry.

Stopping by the kitchen Tommy washed up his plates plus some of the other dirty plates left in the sink then headed out not wanting to annoy anyone this early in.

The trip back to his cabin wasn’t too long and Tommy only took a few wrong turns until recognising the small little cabin that was placed right at the edge of the walls.

The lights were still on so Ranboo must’ve still been up even though it was already well past lights out. 

Tommy entered the cabin casually slipping off his jacket and hanging it on the rack right inside their door “Oh! Hey To-Theseus,” Ranboo sat up from his chair book in hand as Tommy walked in.

“It’s chill Ranboo, You can say my name when no one’s around,” Tommy snickered a bit at the enderman correcting himself flustered by his mistake.

“Okay, How was your day,” Ranboo sat back down and Tommy sat across from him on one of the arm chairs “Pretty good, I’m gonna be apart of the hunter group they apparently do a bit of everything,”.

“That’s so cool, apparently the explorers are just glorified guards so I’m probably just gonna be stuck standing around all day,” Ranboo looked slightly disappointed “Sucks to suck man,”.   
  


Ranboo let out a sound of betrayal and Tommy just laughed it off “Yeah well we also get to be the first to explore the Nether so, sucks to suck,” Ranboo snarked back and Tommy flipped him off.

“You guys are so gonna fall into lava, should probably bring fire res,” Tommy thought aloud since it was probably the first time in the Nether for a good handful of people here especially given the weird portal rule.

“Brewing is such a hassle though, I heard there’s only two guys here who do it because everyone else gave up,” That was fair brewing could be a pain in the ass and Tommy never really bothered to get into it only knowing how to brew basic potions.

“Better safe than sorry my friend, It would be disappointing if you turned into a chicken nugget because you fell,” Ranboo smiled giving Tommy a curious eye “Oh my, does the great Tommy care for my safety,”.

“Oh fuck off, I’ll eat your crispy remains,” Tommy snarked back before getting up “I feel like you need to explain that last sentence,” “Nope, going to bed night Ranboo,” Tommy sped walk to his room hearing the giggling from behind him.

“Night Tommy, see you tomorrow,”.

_ Yeah, See you tomorrow Ranboo. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I researched a weird amount of stuff here because I didn't know what people put in stew and had to reference it with Minecraft vegetables <3


	18. Chapter 18 - Pains Of The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Bruh 18 for the chapter title <3

Waking up was always a slow process.

First you have to regain the consciousness you somehow lost along the way and then you have to open your eyes.

The second part was always the hardest for Tommy.

Why open your eyes when you can stay blissfully unaware of your surroundings and the trouble you would have to go through when the day finally starts.

Tommy could feel himself lying down in his bed wrapped up in the blankets to make sure he didn’t freeze during the night.

Even if it was so tempting to stay there forever Tommy lifted himself up aware of what happened if he slept in.

Dream didn’t like it when Tommy slept in.

Tommy felt tear tracks down his face probably from the night before nightmares weren’t uncommon for Tommy but crying wasn’t a usual occurrence.

The light of sunset hadn’t even begun to shine through Tommy’s small window but his body knew it was time to get up.

Tommy would probably have to distract himself for an hour or two before he could actually go outside without being a hindrance to others so he got up and headed towards the lounge room.

The cabin was fairly large for a two bedroom area having its own kitchen, dining room, study and lounge room but it made sense since they had been here for so long.

The group would’ve had plenty of time to create cabins that could suit their every need even if it was kinda useless since most meals were made in the main kitchen to begin with.

The study was the one room that Tommy had yet to explore since the last few days had been so hectic so that’s where he headed to first.

The room was at the very end of the hallway being the closest to the lounge room and it had the same door as the two bedrooms blending in with them almost as if it was also another room.

Looking at its size it could probably be another room given the sheer amount of space taken up by bookcases and other furniture.

It was a cozy room with a desk near the back wall and several bookcases surrounding it.

It was probably more of a reading than a study but there were maps and quills thrown across the desk probably from Ranboo who had been in here yesterday.

There was also a small arm chair in the corner of the room perfect for reading which is exactly what Tommy decided to do.

The shelves were filled with random books probably just to store them since books were such a common thing to collect that it was ridiculous how many one person could have.

Tommy still remembers the room in his old home that was just filled with stacks of books that Phil had collected over the years and never bothered to sort into shelves.

It would probably be useful to get general common sense knowledge for this world before Tommy went out and did anything too smarts heavy so to the history books it was.

Honestly Tommy usually wouldn’t be caught dead reading books not being able to sit still for too long but he had become clamer over the years.

Especially after the wars it was just better for Tommy to sit down and relax for a bit without having to stress about the dangers of his every step.

History books were always boring as hell but Tommy needed the information so with a grumble Tommy grabbed the first vaguely history looking book from the shelf and sat down preparing himself for the utter boredom he was about to feel.

\---

Apparently choosing a random book out of the bookshelf wasn’t a really smart idea and about ten pages in Tommy realised he was reading a history of plants and not actual world history.

After a quick search through the shelf it was obvious half of these books were going to be utterly useless with only five of them looking even vaguely promising.

The first was a history of mobs which seemed like it could be useful so once again Tommy sat down preparing to read for the next few hours.

Looking at the clock on the wall it was only four in the morning and Tommy still had at least four hours before he had to head off.

The armchair Tommy was sitting in creaked under his weight as Tommy plonked down pulling the book out in front of him and started to read through the pages.

Time becomes a fickle thing when you really get into a book one minute it could be pitch black outside and the next light is rushing into the room blinding you with its radiance.

Tommy almost forgot himself within the book until a particular strand of light had gone over his eyes making it near impossible to see the words on the page.

It had apparently been about three hours since Tommy had first sat down and he had gotten through over two hundred pages before he had to put the book down to go and get ready.

There was still at least an hour before Tommy had to go and meet up with his team but now was as good a time as any to get ready.

Tommy creaked open the office door and stalked down the hallways not knowing if Ranboo was up or not and not wanting to take the risk.

Tommy slipped into his room silently and just as silently pulled on his clothes tying his bright red bandana around his neck hiding some of the scratching at the back of his neck.

Looking back it was a good decision to buy the bandana, It was useful in hiding scars which would just raise more questions than Tommy was willing to answer.

Tommy subconsciously hid any scars from others feeling a pang of shame whenever he saw one etched across his skin.

Scars meant Tommy had gotten hurt.

**They mean you’ve failed.**

Yeah.

And TommyInnit refused to let his failures be known.

Wilburs old cloak was about all the protection Tommy had against the elements and he knew that when it got into the winter months he’d need to get a better jacket but for now Tommy clung to the cloak like a lifeline.

It still had the old L’manburg flag stitched to it’s sleeve along with the new flag which Ghostbur had stitched on before giving it to Tommy as an early christmas present.

People probably didn’t care about the flags but they were important to Tommy and he refused to pull them off even if they caused a few questions.

After grabbing everything he needed Tommy headed back out of his room towards the kitchen wanting to grab a quick glass of water before leaving.

Ranboo stood in the kitchen biting down into a poorly made sandwich as Tommy walked in grabbing a glass from one of the cabinets “G’morning,” Ranboo slightly slurred his words still trying to wake up.

Tommy on the other hand had been awake for hours “Mourning,” Tommy nodded and Ranboo moved over to the lounge trying not to get in Tommy’s way “Headin’ off already?” Tommy chugged down the water before responding.

“Yup, Apparently I’ve gotta be there nice and early,” The words rolled off Tommy’s tongue with a tsk, he was obviously not pleased with having to go out this early.

“Sucks to be you, I get to stay here for another hour or two,” Ranboo smirked “That is entirely unfair but I don’t have the energy to rebuke you,” Tommy poured another glass before walking over to the lounge as well.

“At least you guys can spend most of the day doing whatever, I’ve gotta stand around all day,” Ranboo expected more adventure to come from this but right now it just seemed like your average job.

“Maybe you should’ve been better at fighting,” Tommy quipped “Sorry I’m not a battle hardened warrior sue me,” Ranboo didn’t know to what extent but he knew Tommy had been in a few wars just from the talk they had along the road.

“Wow low blow, Maybe you’re just shit at fighting,” Tommy retorted feeling a smirk grow onto his face “Hey! I’m at least decent!,” Ranboo made a fake offended expression smiling as Tommy grabbed his sachelle.

“Sure big man, whatever you say,” Tommy headed towards the door ready to get this day over with “See you late Tommy,” Ranboo called out watching as Tommy left “See ya Ranboo,”.

Tommy closed the door with a smile then composed himself getting ready for another day of work, routine was something Tommy could get used to.

\---

It was a quiet morning to say the least.

After all of the excitement from the days prior everyone needed a minute to recompose themselves and get used to the usual routine once again.

Even if that routine would be altered with their new access to the Nether brought about by their two newest members Ranboo and Theseus.

Technoblade wasn’t really affected by the change all too much, getting an extra pair of hands to help out was nothing to complain about.

But something about the pair seemed off especially with the effort they went through just to get into the settlement.

Sure there were stubborn people who had refused to leave before but this seemed different like it was something more personal.

The two had probably been through a bit together so it made sense that they wanted to stay but the reactions they had just made Techno feel uneasy.

He was probably overthinking things, if something was actually wrong Wilbur would’ve picked up on it from the start.

Everything seemed to be normal anyway the two kids fit in as well as one could with all the other members especially Ranboo who people had taken a liking to quickly given his curious nature.

Theseus on the other hand seemed completely uninterested in conversations and from what Puffy had told him Theseus prefers to just listen much like Techno.

That was fine there was nothing wrong with being a bit antisocial and Techno was definitely not one to speak since he spent most of his time alone preferring the company of his horse over others.

Techno wasn’t expecting to see anyone for at least another hour or so since he had set the meeting a little later wanting to give everyone some much needed rest so he stalked towards the forest not noticing the boy following him.

The amount of mobs spawning in the forest seemed to increase when the portal was activated, probably drawn to its magic so Techno had to do some extra culling just to keep them in check.

God forbid one of the farming team members came out here and got attacked by one of these creatures that had happened once before and Wilbur was less than happy with Techno.

None of those folk could defend themselves properly and now the farming teams had to travel in groups if three or more just in case anything happened.

Techno was fully equipped with enchanted diamond armour more than enough to deal with these mobs but it still left a sore when he thought about the old set of netherite he used to have.

While on his rampage in the nether techno had broken the armour and when returning and finding out he couldn’t go back in Techno also realised that he had destroyed his only set of netherite.

It was certainly less efficient to be walking around in daimon but compared to everyone else in the overworld Techno was more than well equipped.

Most warriors in the settlement had diamond weapons and golden armour with barely any of it enchanted because that took way too much grinding.

It was rare to see someone running around without armour or diamond weapons here and Techno could only think of two people who didn’t use that stuff.

Walking through the forest was fairly quiet apart from the constant chittering in Techno’s head but he’d learned how to drown it out into the surrounding when he was younger.

It was apparently a family trait to gain these voices because not long after Tommy’s-- the incident Wilbur had also started hearing them even if they were less prominent.

It had been one of the things the family had bonded over, over the years discovering that high stress was usually the trigger for them to start talking.

All the voices came in different forms especially for the two brothers who had a more violent edge to theirs but they had all managed to keep each other in check long enough to get used to the constant chatter in their heads.

An unexpecting zombie brushed past Techno and with a quick slice it was decapitated letting out a screech alerting the rest of its horde to Techno’s location.

Honestly Techno didn’t even count these mobs as a challenge as he plowed through them not caring for the blood that was now splattering across his shirt.

\---

Tommy wasn’t aware of the timing changes for the meeting since Puffy had forgotten to mention it so here he was watching Techno walk off into the forest diamond sword in hand.

Tommy followed Techno hiding his presence the best he could wanting to see what Techno was up to before revealing himself.

Techno was the one who had taught Tommy how to hide himself like this but it seemed this Techno wasn’t as attuned as Tommy’s one who had always been able to perceive Tommy.

Killing mobs was a usual Techno thing so Tommy wasn’t surprised to see his brother wipe out wave after wave of zombies that had been attracted by the screech earlier.

The only real difference in fighting was this Techno seemed more invested if that was even possible, making sure that every zombie was truly dead even if it was obvious that they were.

It was honestly kinda brutal when Techno smashed all their heads in stomping on all the fallen bodies making sure that they wouldn’t be getting back up.

The crunching of bones made Tommy feel uneasy suddenly remembering what had happened that night when Tommy had lost his control, Tommy was definitely way more brutal than he should’ve been back then.

Especially since Ranboo was watching Tommy had gotten so lost in his post murderous haze that he had forgotten that not everyone was chill with seeing people’s faces being burnt off in front of them.

Tommy wasn’t entirely unaffected by it either so it must’ve been horrifying for someone like Ranboo to see especially coming from Tommy who seemed mostly harmless since they had met.

Techno finished up the last of the horde fairly quickly and Tommy had enough of watching walking out to greet the man who was now surrounded by bodies.

“Sup,” Techno hadn’t noticed Theseus at all beforehand so he startled a bit when the boy called out casually walking over ignoring the bodies beneath the two.

“Theseus, I didn’t see you there,” Techno looked at the boy warily. It wasn't everyday that techno didn’t notice someone especially with the hybrids heightened senses “Yeah, I can tell,”.

Tommy looked over the bodies not really wanting to carry a conversation “What’re you doing out here so early I gave everyone a few more hours this morning,” Techno crouched down to pick up the items from the corpses and Tommy joined him not wanting to just stand by and watch.

“Well Captn’ Puffy never told me that,” Tommy grumbled a bit, he could’ve spent more time in the study instead of being out here shuffling through dead bodies to try and find loot “Yeah she does that,”.

Tommy didn’t mind how quiet it was with just the two of them Techno was never really the talkative type, not even in Tommy’s world and Tommy didn’t have the energy to keep up conversations anymore, finding it to be a useless task.

They both could probably have a more interesting conversation with themselves than each other so the silence was mutual, Techno especially didn’t want to communicate finding himself getting a headache from the screeching voices in his head.

They’d been acting up ever since Theseus and Ranboo had arrived voicing their suspicions on the two especially when Techno was fighting the two, it had taken a lot of restraint not to accidentally stab one of them during that.

It was probably why Techno had been on such a killing frenzy as of late that was just his coping mechanism all be it an unhealthy one but whatever works is good enough for Techno.

Grabbing the last of equipment the two could find on the dead bodies they stood up heading towards the storage building with Techno leading the way since Tommy was still slightly unfamiliar with his surroundings.

“What’d you do before you came here,” The walk to the storage from their location was at least half an hour and even if the silence wasn’t awkward doesn’t mean Techno liked being alone with the voices “Nothin’ really, Fought a few wars started a revolution or two y’know the normal,”.

Techno took that as a joke at first giving Thesues a bemused huff but after seeing the kids face it seemed like less of a joke “What ‘bout you Blade, what’d you do before this,”.

“I started an empire a while back that got crazy quickly so I went off with Wilbur and his friends to start this place,”  _ An empire? Like the antarctic empire that Phil had talked to avidly about?  _ Tommy hummed in agreement “Yeah nations do get a bit fucked don’t they,”.

Techno looked over to Theseus with a worried glance the way the kid talked about it made it seem like something really bad had happened in his last nation and given his current state that was worrying.

“So that’s why you left for here? Your nation got too much,” Techno pried it probably was rude to ask this sort of personal question but the piglin was curious, Theseus genuinely laughed at that finding what Techno said was highly humorous.

“Trust me if I had a choice I’d be anywhere but here big man,” That was the end of the conversation Techno sensing Theseus getting uncomfortable with this line of questioning so he dropped in in favour of silence.

Honestly Techno didn’t really care all that much but chat seemed adamant that he continued asking question for whatever reason so techno obliged out of curiosity as to where it would lead them.

Theseus was definitely going to be a part of the group that traveled to the end that much was obvious to Techno so there was no harm in trying to be more friendly with the kid.

The storage building was guarded by fewer guards than the day before when Tommy had come over probably because of the early hour and as soon as they saw Techno walking over they opened up the door no need to ask any questions.

Techno seemed more known than Puffy was but no one bothered to speak with him whether that be out of fear or the fact that the man was absolutely horrible at carrying a conversation without making things awkward.

To be fair Techno had always focused on battle rather than socialising so it wasn’t his fault that he was so socially awkward even if it was amusing to watch as he stumbled around in conversations.

Techno mostly got away with it since everyone was too intimidated to talk to him and he could get away with short sentences but around people who knew him it was just funny to watch as the piglin tried to have a normal conversation with someone.

Tommy was already vaguely aware of where everything from the monsters went so he went over to the chests and started placing items with Techno doing the same, emptying out their bags which had been filled with all sorts of monster items.

\---

The walk back to the meeting spot was just as uneventful as everything else and the two other hunters were already there waiting for the two to arrive.

Apparently there were five members of the hunting team but the other one had run off to deal with some family issues so it was just the four of them for now which was plenty in Tommy’s opinion.

Sam and Puffy were already desensitised to Techno showing up covered in blood knowing about his early morning ‘training’ as Techno had called it but it was surprising to see Theseus walking with the man.

Techno hated people slowing him down on morning hunts and had a habit of running off deep into the forest so it was a bit weird to see the man walking back with Thesues whose hands were also decently covered in blood but obviously not from fighting.

“Haloo,” Techno greeted the two and Tommy gave them a nod which was about as much socialisation he was going to do today after Techno had pried into his personal life like a twat.

The meeting as Techno had put it went uneventfully with Tommy being partnered up with Puffy once more as Techno and Sam went off to do their own things, apparently they met everyday to discuss their plans even if it would just be easier to do it weekly.

Honestly the whole day went by just like the meeting had in a boring haze and before Tommy even knew he was sitting inside the stables eating a measly amount of dinner with Frederic.

Tommy wasn’t too surprised when he gained his awareness again sitting next to Frederic he was used to this happening when he was with Dream it just made it easier to deal with the days.

Frederic seemed to notice Tommy’s sudden awareness and gave the boy a nudge making Tommy smile a bit “Hey buddy,” cuddling up to Frederic was always the best medicine for Tommy.

After making sure it was well into the night and not too many people would be roaming around Tommy walked over to the kitchen to place his bowl down.

There was a small note on the sink thanking him for helping with dinner again he assumed was written by Nikki at least that told him some of what he’d gotten up to that day.

It was kinda terrifying losing all sense of self only to come back into awareness in a completely different spot but it was something Tommy was unfortunately used to. 

It hadn’t happened too often since he’d gotten here only when riding Frederic for long days but it was bound to happen like this eventually.

Tommy knew how he could ground himself to stay in the moment like everyone else but sometimes it was easier to just drift through the day not having to worry too much about his actions as his mind went to another place.

Losing himself in thoughts was something Tommy could do easily even if it wasn’t healthy and before he knew it he was sitting in his room light off and staring at the ceiling.

Tommy remembers coming here giving Ranboo a quick conversation before heading off to bed trying to sleep off everything.

The pain in his hand was the thing that grounded Tommy to his bed and not his thoughts that were working a thousand miles per second.

Surely another bite wouldn’t be too bad? Would it?

**_A temporary solution. Silence is impossible._ **

**_Your blood isn’t enough._ **

**_It isn’t good enough._ **

Tommy bit into his hand again feeling the wound rip more and blood drip from his mouth onto the bed beneath him, breath regarded as Tommy closed his eyes.

**_For now it will suffice..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As soon as I posted the last chapter I got sick and wasn't able to write but it's all g now so have another chapter <3


	19. Chapter 19 - New information

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got school tomorrow so I'm waiting for that demotivation to hit me like a truck

Tommy’s mind shouldn’t be this fuzzy.

He could’ve sworn he had gone to sleep last night but looking around something seemed off.

Luckily Tommy’s confusion was answered when he looked at the calendar he had put up.

When did he put it up?

It’s been a few weeks since Tommy has been at the settlement at least that’s what the calendar had said.

This was unusual, episodes wouldn’t last for this long and Tommy was usually able to remember the basics of what had happened.

Tommy sat up from his bed and looked around still slightly fuzzy, memories started to come back which relaxed Tommy slightly.

Forgetting small details wasn’t too big of a problem but it was scary to think that Tommy could forget entire weeks at a time.

Tommy now fully out of bed felt his head clear a bit more remembering what had happened the last few weeks once more.

This happened every morning, it was honestly annoying to forget everything for the first five minutes of consciousness but that was probably the most peaceful five minutes of the day.

Tommy sighed shuffling out of his room and into the common room noticing Ranboo sitting down on one of the couches drinking some coffee to get ready for the morning.

“Morning, food’s on the counter,” Ranboo gestured towards the breakfast on the counter and Tommy took it into his hands looking down at the meal with a strange disgust.

Tommy wasn’t in the mood for food this morning especially with his whole forgetting everything for five minutes but if it made Ranboo happy Tommy could suffer through eating this infront of him.

“I made you lunch for today since I had to make it for myself,” Ranboo pointed out just as Tommy noticed the sandwich neatly packed into his bag which was now swung around Tommy’s shoulder.

“Cool thanks big man, have a good day!” Tommy was already halfway out the door breakfast in hand when Ranboo gave him a wave letting the door shut between them.

Tommy admittedly was probably closer to this Ranboo than the one in his world as of late but it was hard to tell since the memories were starting to blur together almost like this world was trying to make Tommy forget.

Jokes on this world Tommy would never forget the shit he went through back there and when he got back he’d find everyone who had wronged him and punch them in their goddamn face.

It was spiteful yes but if that spite kept him going that was fine it was easier than admitting he genuinely missed life back home even if it would be simpler to just forget.

The month Tommy had spent in this world so far was pretty hectic, half of it spent with Ranboo traveling to the Settlement and the other half getting used to seeing the faces of people he once knew.

It was easier for Tommy though since he would blank out on those interactions not able to handle speaking with certain people even if it did scare the shit out of him everytime he gained consciousness again.

Tommy passed the entrance to the portal room that had been dug out a while ago, it had been a few weeks and they still hadn’t had any luck finding a fortress or anything for that matter.

From what Tommy had heard from Techno no one was able to stay in the nether for more than a few hours at a time and that just made the whole process a whole lot harder for everyone.

It was a ridiculously hot and dangerous environment and they had already lost a few people to the lava which people had somehow fallen into by slipping or encountering mobs at a bad time.

Of course there were big meetings discussing a plan of action but no one had the gear to go into the nether without a very real possibility of losing a life.

Tommy was still unsure where his lives lay or if he was even still alive so no way in hell would he be going into the Nether without a few fire resistant potions that they simply just didn’t have.

Walking to their usual meeting place Tommy saw Puffy sitting down on one of the fallen trees waiting around for everyone to arrive presumably “Hey miss Puffy,” Tommy waved over to Puffy who stood up after hearing his voice.

“Morning Theseus, ready to go? Techno paired us for huntin’,” Puffy dusted off as Tommy nodded of course they were paired for hunting that was just the norm by now.

“Where’re we going today,” Tommy had only a few interactions with Puffy before so seeing her everyday since he’d gotten here was an opportunity to get to know the woman better even if she wouldn’t remember it when he got back.

“Techno said the east quarter has been seeing a few hordes as of late so we’re heading over there today,” The basin was set up into quarters each one with its own teams and leaders with the main settlement in the middle resting next to the mountains.

Tommy pulled a golden axe from his inventory still getting used to the new weapon that Techno had given to him since pretty much everyone else either had gold or diamond while Tommy only had an iron axe.

Gold was weighted a bit different from iron so it had taken a day or two for Tommy to get used to the metal which also meant a few mishaps since it was much heavier and the force to take out a zombie was greatly underestimated.

That mishap led to Tommy being covered in exploded zombie brains for the rest of the day as he didn’t have enough time to wash it off and also a teasing from Sam who had just laughed when he saw.

Sam was the person Tommy was paired with the second most even if that wasn’t often but the guy seemed alright, Sam was apparently really good with redstone and traps so Techno usually took the man along with him to the nether.

He was also one of the only people apart from Technoblade himself who could survive more than an hour in the Nether without overheating so the two usually went off to explore the fiery planes while Puffy and Tommy dealt with all the overworld jobs.

\---

Tommy had just sliced the head off one of the approaching skeletons in the woods when Puffy called out for a break being beaten down by farming mobs all day.

“Seriously how in the world does Techno keep up with all this,” Puffy panted as Tommy walked over making sure there were no mobs in the tree line before joining Puffy in a clearing.

Tommy pulled out the sandwich Ranboo had made him and broke it in half giving some to Puffy mostly because Tommy didn’t want to eat the whole thing “Why how generous of you, thank you Theseus,”.

Tommy flipped Puffy off as they both went to find a place to sit chewing on the sandwiches as they went, Tommy wasn’t as great at small talk as he used to be since he’d been talking to the same green teletubby for more than half a year so starting the conversation wasn’t something he looked forward to.

“What’re the others up to,” Tommy sat down and a rock sitting across from Puffy who decided to just sit on the grass “Checking out the Nether again, better them than me,” Puffy grimicaded remembering her first time going through the portal and the waft of heat that made her instantly sweat.

“Neat, We should probably grab a deer or something on the way back Nikki wanted some more meat,” Tommy added as he continued to eat the sandwich in small bites “Oh yeah! Are you helping her again tonight?,”.

“Why of course, how could I leave poor Nikki by herself in the kitchen,” Tommy said full of sarcasm noting the grin on Puffy’s face, Tommy found it easier to get smaller portions if he was the one cooking so it had become a habit to help Nikki out.

Nikki was one of the people from Tommy’s world who he didn’t hate; she just wanted to start her bakery and was dragged into the wars by Wilbur’s ideals not really knowing what she was getting into.

Kinda like Tommy, maybe that’s why he didn’t mind her all that much.

Apart from Nikki, Tommy had tried to avoid every single person he knew from his old life more often than not blanking out when talking to them which was his brain trying to stop him from breaking down.

It wasn’t healthy by any means Tommy would forget entire days at a time after seeing someone too familiar but it was better than showing weakness in front of these people.

He couldn’t afford to slip up, none of them could know.

Puffy continued to rant on about something Techno had made her do the day before since he had gone on a midnight hunt and needed someone to help him bring back all the loot “It was like one in the morning, talk about rude,”.

“Does that guy even fucking sleep, I’m not one to judge but jeez,” Puffy nodded in agreement and the two giggled about Techno’s antics. He was honestly so oblivious to common sense that it was hard not to laugh.

Puffy finished her meal way before Tommy so she went to the treeline and began looking out for mobs as Tommy ate his sandwich in relative silence.

Tommy probably wouldn’t have even noticed someone walking up behind him from afar if he hadn’t been eating which usually meant he was automatically on high alert knowing that getting attacked during a meal was a typical trick for bandits.

Summoning his axe in one fluid motion Tommy threw it backwards aiming just to the side of whoever was trying to sneak up hoping to scare them off until his brain caught up with his body and he saw who it was.

Techno looked about as surprised as Tommy when the boy had thrown an axe right next to his face in what looked like a reflex motion which was a bit weird especially if that reflex was to throw an axe at whoever is behind you.

Puffy heard the axe hit the tree behind Techno and rushed over obviously thinking there was some sort of mob “Well hello to you too,” was Techno’s response as he walked over to Puffy passing by Tommy who ran over to get his axe.

Sam followed a little further behind not directly witnessing what had happened but rather seeing the axe getting pulled from the tree right from where Techno had entered a few seconds earlier.

“Y’know usually people say hello,” Techno snarked as Tommy walked back over to where the three were now standing “Maybe you shouldn’t sneak behind people, dickhead,” Tommy grumbled slightly annoyed with himself for doing that.

Techno looked over to Theseus and saw how annoyed he was and decided to just simply ignore Theseus until he calmed down “Well we gotta have a meetin’ so take a seat,” Puffy sat down on the grass once more and Tommy sat down on a rock arms crossed.

“We found somethin’ during the Nether trip today and we’ll probably need to set up a group to go explore tomorrow,” Techno explained but not very clearly and Tommy wanted to punch the man for being vague “Is it the fortress?” Puffy asked about as confused as Tommy.

“Nah, it’s a Bastion which is ironic since it’s usually easier to find a fortress than one of those,” Bastion? Those things were useless unless you just wanted to get a shit ton of gold or maybe an enchanted golden apple but the chances were one in a million.

_ I mean the chest loot may be useful but I don’t see the point in--- Chests! _

It was a known fact that Bastions had all sorts of chests within them but one of the ones they’re famous for is an ender chest usually located in the heart of the structure.

If Tommy could get his hand on an ender chest maybe he’d be able to get all his items from before the ones he’d kept in the chest just in case, it was his most powerful stash of weapons and armour including his maxed out axe.

“Who’s on the team?” Tommy asked finally calmed enough to not throw enough axe at his brothers head “Sam, Karl, Dream and I for now,” Tommy imiedatly didn’t want to go anymore if the green fuck was going to be there Tommy wanted to be anywhere else.

“I came to ask if you two wanna come along, we need at least one more person to be safe,” Tommy definitely wanted to go but the people on the team made Tommy want to throw himself into the lake.

“I would help but I’d probably faint after an hour in there,” Puffy said jokingly rubbing the back of her neck at the memory of the hellscape, Puffy had long curly locks of hair which were great for winter time to keep her neck warm but in the nether they served as a torture device intent on making her hotter.

“That’s fine pretty sure you almost died last time anyway,” Techno pointed out and Puffy took offense “In my defense I wasn’t expecting a fricking ghast to show up,” Sam just chuckled “It’s literally the Nether what else were you expecting?”.

Puffy began to argue her case with Sam feeling her competence being challenged by the man “I’ll come along if you need someone,” Tommy turned to talk with Technoblade ignoring the two arguing in the corner “As long as you don’t throw another axe at me,”.

“Keep that up and I won't miss next time,” Techno grinned amused that Tommy thought he could counter him “Sure ya will Theseus,” Tommy lost a bit of his bravado when techno said his name, it still reminded him of his brother's speech.

Ironically Technoblade had been right in a way Tommy had fought tooth and nail for his country losing two  ~~_three?_ ~~ of his cannon lives because of it and they still kicked him out at the first sign of trouble.

That trouble being Dream who Tommy was most definitely going to have to work with now which was just a lovely little cherry on top of the shit storm of a cake that was Tommy’s day.

“We’re meetin’ at the portal at dawn tomorrow be late and we’ll leave you behind,” Techno explained as the two in the background arguing had been completely blocked out “Anything special I have to bring?” Tommy asked better safe than sorry.

“Nah, just be ready for a fight I bet there’ll be plenty of pigmen that are gonna have beef with us,” Techno explained like he wasn’t the reason for that “By ‘us’ you mean they’re after you,” Tommy pointed out.

“Well we’re a group so you're stuck with the hate as well,” anyone associated with techno was seen as a threat in the Nether which showed how much damage he had done over there in his blind rage.

“I’m surprised they didn’t ban you,” Tommy had seen one or two people being banned by Dream from going into certain places and it was funny to watch them walk into a seemingly invisible wall “Ban?”.

Techno looked confused at the term and Tommy wasn’t surprised the only person that knew how to ban people was Dream who didn’t even know that was a thing over here “Forget it,” Tommy stood up to go stop Sam and Puffy ignoring the confused Technoblade to sit alone.

The rest of the day went by in an uneventful blur as Tommy tried to mentally prepare himself for the next day which would definitely be spiritually taxing to say the least.

Cooking with Nikki was always a calming activity. She was a lot more chipper in this universe and was happy to hold random conversations with Tommy as they both prepared dinner.

Every so often someone else from the farming group would join in helping out with cooking so Tommy knew a fair heap of them by now at least enough that when they took patrols in the woods near the farming groups Tommy could give them a polite wave or have a small chat.

As always Nikki left herself and Tommy for last when serving up, grabbing a few bowls for the guards still on duty and running off to give them dinner giving Tommy free reign of the kitchen.

If Nikki noticed the apples and bread going missing she said nothing about it seeing how small Tommy was it made sense that he needed more food so she just didn’t question it if only she knew all that was being given to his overly spoilt horse.

“Hey buddy,” Tommy was used to eating in the stables by now and no one had asked him about why he went missing during dinner so Tommy just kept doing it until it became routine.

Even Frederic just expected Tommy to come every night, always excited to see his owner, Tommy had been out on Frederic a few times since arriving but not nearly as much as before which made Tommy feel a little guilty.

Frederic sat down munching on the apple Tommy had grabbed while Tommy hopped over the horse's gate and into the pen to sit down and eat together.

To be fair Tommy could barely call his meal eating usually only a few spoonfuls before giving up not wanting to throw up all the food from eating too much. He was getting better at the amount though and Tommy only had to throw out around two spoonfuls this time.

Frederic looked over at Tommy sadly still trying to convince him to eat more but it was pointless Tommy had months of training ingrained into him he couldn’t just instantly start acting normally after that.

Even now in a place as safe as the settlement Tommy still found himself flinching at loud noises or throwing axe’s at pig faced ass holes who decide creeping up on people from behind is a good idea.

Tommy didn’t even finish his lunch since Techno had ruined his mood after that and Tommy had to throw the rest of it out for the woodland creatures to eat at least someone would enjoy it.

God Tommy really did hate when his day caught up with him. It was a sickening affair which was probably why he spent most of his night in the pen with Frederic or in his room alone so that no one could hear.

Tommy sat in the stable trying to stop himself from hyperventilating as Frederic looked on in worry, aware that this was a recurring event that he couldn’t do much about except bump his head into Tommy letting the boy know he wasn’t alone.

Tears weren’t shed after about the fifth time Tommy realising it was too much effort to cry and that just not being able to breath was enough to get him thoroughly panicked and get the message through his head.

**Wooo! We’re going to the Nether baybeee! Shut up**

**What about dreamy boy? Fuck him. Agreed**

**You agreed. Anything that happens is your fault. No?**

**He’ll probably kill you. Throw you off a ledge and everyone will pretend they didn’t see.**

**Kinda like before! Yeah!**

“Would you just shut up,” Tommy heaved through his sporadic breaths shutting his eyes tightly and covering his ears in an attempt to make the voices stop even if Tommy already knew it would do nothing.

**You shut up! You can’t stop us from speaking**

**So rude like a little child**

**He knows how to shut us up? I think he’s just a pussy**

**It wont work as well**

**We’ll probably just come back louder. How fun!**

“Just, shut. Up.” Tommy said once more, putting emphasis on the last words as he brought his hand to his mouth letting his teeth morph into a sharper shape that wasn’t at all human.

Tommy was just about to bite down when he heard a branch crunch under someone’s boot and his immediately pulled back letting his teeth shift back into their more harmless form.

No one ever came back here this late at night since Tommy had been here and as he struggled to see who was around Tommy realised how loud the voices had gotten.

**What! C’monnn you can’t play us like this**

**This is bullshit. I’m just gonna scream until he does it**

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, Did he do it I screamed really loud.**

**Who interrupted us? Kill them**

**They’ll give us blood**

**It’s better than yours**

Tommy shook his head ready to yell at the non existent voices in his head for being wankers until he saw a flash of pink pass by Frederic’s stable, not batting another eye to the contents of said stable.

It was probably really lucky that Tommy wasn’t noticed and that they had just walked right past him cause now Tommy could see who it was before they saw him giving Tommy the much unneeded upper hand in the situation.

It was Technoblade.

Of course it was his brother who had been part of the reason Tommy was having a breakdown only ten seconds ago and by the looks of it Techno was checking up on another horse in the stalls.

Carl was its name if memory serves Tommy right and Carl was Techno’s only long surviving horse managing to survive through all the wars in Tommy’s universe.

Techno had gone through a phase where he wanted to breed horses into the perfect horse in all standards and Carl was the result of that being the fastest horse in the land despite not being a wild horse.

Tommy hid back into the stall and waited for Techno to leave but as luck would have it, it seemed that Techno wasn’t going to leave anytime soon and Tommy had just accidentally tripped over his own dumb horse’s leg hitting the ground with a thump.

If Techno didn’t know Tommy was here he sure did now  _ Thanks Frederic _ “Haloo,” Techno gave his usual greeting but Tommy saw his hand firmly on a diamond sword handle as he approached the pen.

“Theseus?” Tommy wasn’t in a very appealing position for himself having tripped over not two second ago and he flinched away from techno instinctively at the name “How ‘do,”.

Techno looked at him with confusion “What’re you doing ‘ere?” Tommy laughed internally at himself this was going to be a long night, hopefully Tommy gets away before things get too bad...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Completely unrelated to this chapter but I forgot if I made Tommy's mother a human with a magma cube partner or a hybrid with her parents being that and it changes the whole family dynamic so ima make it the second option screw what past me has said <3


End file.
